Too Much
by ElizaV
Summary: Her skin had been too much and now this place may be too much as well. When life throws her a curve ball, at least Marie still has Logan and his promises. Very ROGAN. Sequal: Coming Home... is up!
1. Chapter 1

**Note:** I do not own the X-Men or the characters mentioned in this story. If I did, a few things might have been different. Whether this will be a one-shot or continued is still up in the air. I hope you all enjoy.

She did it all for herself, for Marie. Her touch was too much for herself. The deprivation of always having to watch her actions, never being able to hug the ones she cared about without always thinking about the parts of her which were uncovered, making sure bare skin never met bare skin.

The feelings were so divided on the proclaimed cure for the ailments. Few saw their mutations, their talents, as a sickness, but she did. While she loved herself and her powers, she longed for something different. Only one could begin to relate with her. When you can't control your power, it seems more a burden than a gift. You hide behind long black patent-leather gloves or rose-colored glasses. But even Scott could not fully understand. He could hold Jean in his arms, kiss her, make love to her, and not fear harming her. He could even close his eyes and be fine. She could not.

She left the mansion not seeking approval of others. Even if Bobby didn't understand now, maybe in time he would. Maybe when he could hold her hand and not have to worry about dying, breaking his kisses before he wanted them to end.

Logan somewhat understood. He understood it was her life, even if he didn't understand what her life was truly like. When she saw Logan as she was leaving, she sensed no malice in him towards her. They weren't all that different. They both tended to run away from our problems and push others away. He understood and even if no one else accepted her when she was no longer Rogue, not even Bobby or Dr. Xavier, Logan would accept her.

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"Welcome back Marie." He said to her shortly after she had returned. His words were met with arms wrapped around her and she returned the gesture, for once, without covered arms. Adamantium may be intertwined within his bones, but his heart was made of solid gold, at least when he was around her.

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"I started dating and fell in love with Rogue, not Marie." Iceman's words broke through her. "You treated that part of you like a disease. Is that what you think about the rest of us? That we are all sick and need medication to treat us."

"No." Marie said. "It's not like that. You don't understand…" her words were broken off by tears as she slid down the wall to the floor of her room.

"I don't understand what? I don't understand what its like to be accepted by others? My own family even asked me if I had tried not being a mutant. Well, the rest of the world may accept you, but I don't." Iceman said as he froze the picture of them she had kept on the table next to her bed. He knocked it to the ground and it shattered into a million icy pieces, like Marie's heart. She didn't bother picking herself up off the floor as he stormed out of her room and slammed the door. He had accepted it at first and even somewhat understood her reasons, but it only took him 3 months to leave her and forget that underneath Rogue, she had always been Marie.

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"Hey kid, would you please get off the floor. You stay there much longer and you won't be able to move."

"I'm alright. Just leave me alone." Marie said, pain clearly plastered on her face.

"No you're not. You've been there for hours now."

"How would you know how long I've been here?" she asked, meeting the eyes of the figure stooped down in front of her.

"Well, I, I heard the argument you had with ice boy. I waited for you to come out of your room but you never did. I began to wonder if you were okay, so I let myself in." Logan said and sat down next to her, raising her from the lying position she had held for over three hours to sitting next to him.

"I'm not a kid anymore." She told him. She hated the feeling of having to be taken care of, but at least Logan was still there for her.

"I know you're not." He said and pulled her closer to him and the tears begin to fall again, soaking the white of his shirt.

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When her crying ceased an hour later, sleep began to set in. Logan took her in her arms and laid her on her bed and pulled the covers over her. He thought of walking out the door and teaching Bobby a lesson before retiring to his room for the night, but Marie had other ideas.

"Please stay" she asked softly underneath heavy eyes. He said nothing, only turned around and took his place in a chair near the window in her room. He would nap lightly from time to time, not wanting to leave her unprotected, especially now. He knew she wasn't defenseless compared to most, but in a mansion where everyone except Marie had extraordinary gifts thanks to a genetic mutation, he couldn't bare to fully break his watch. He knew if something happened, he could not use his powers to save her again.

The sun rose shortly after 6 a.m. Luckily it was a Saturday and Marie would have no classes to go to and he would have no lessons to teach. He was surprised the itch to retreat from this place had yet to hit him. A year ago, losing Jean yet again, as well as the Professor, and Scott who he had finally started to warm up to (though not openly admitting it) would have been enough to drive him away for a decade. But he stayed because he knew he was needed. Storm wanted his help with classes and deep down, he knew Marie needed him.

When he was sure she was still asleep and felt things were safe enough to leave her for five minutes, he went down to the kitchen to bring them up breakfast. He was sure she hadn't eaten supper since she was on her floor around that time. He made it back before the sun finally reached her bed and began to wake her.

"Morning. I brought you breakfast." He said as he placed the plate on her bed side table.

"I'm not hungry." She said as she turned her head to the other side, away from the plate.

"It doesn't matter, you need to eat."

"What are you going to do, make me?" She sat up as if she was ready to attack

"Well, I could think of more than five ways to do so, asking and telling you are the only two pleasant ways." Holding her nose to force her to open her mouth and holding her down were among the unpleasant options.

"So I take it I don't have much option?" she asked, raising her right eyebrow at him.

"Not really."

Her stomach surrendered the battle for her as it growled. She quickly grabbed the plate and began to eat the toast and burnt scrambled eggs before her. Logan had finished his plate before she did. They sat in silence for a few more minutes, neither really knowing what to say. Marie finally broke the silence after taking two big gulps of her orange juice.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" she asked Logan.

"I was thinking of maybe get out of here for the day. Go for a ride."

"So you're running again."

"I didn't say I was running, and I never said I was going alone. Believe it or not another person can fit on the bike." He told her. The meaning finally sunk in. He was intending for her to go with him. She loved the idea, but frankly, the idea of Logan on the motorcycle scared her. He had a tendency to not know when to return when he left the mansion without the rest of the team. But for once, the idea seemed appealing.

"Are you sure we will come back?" She asked.

"Whenever you want to come back, just say the word and I'll turn the bike around." He promised her and she believed him.

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"No" should have been her answer. She knew once they were outside the property gates they may not return for a while. She may say she wants to but he could just look at her with that look on his face and "okay" which said he didn't want to but would and she would give in and tell him they didn't have to go back just yet.

No should have been her answer but her answer had been "alright". The halls were still fairly quite when Logan made his way back to his room, after promising to be back in ten minutes. She took the time given her to shower before they left. Before she was even dressed, about seven minutes after he had left, she heard a knock at the door and then it open. "Jeez Logan don't you know it is rude to just walk in on someone?"

"I didn't just walk in, I knocked first." He said and took a drag of his bottle of beer. It took him a second for recognition to kick in and realize she was still in a towel and he shouldn't see her like this. Instead of leaving the room and waiting for her to get dressed he just turned around acting like this was an every day occurrence for them. She dressed quickly and when she finished, she told him it was alright to turn around. He threw her his half empty duffel bag.

"Here, pack the essentials, there's really only room for on bag on the bike. She realized this might not be a one day thing. Logan had thrown in enough stuff to do him for well over week. He had a couple pairs of jeans, several wife beaters, a few pairs of socks, soap, and toothpaste. It wasn't like she was trying to snoop it was just hard to not reveal the contents belonging to another person when you are sharing such a small bag. But this seemed almost trivial considering he was still in her mind. He was quiet most of the time now, but he was still there. His actions were probably evident in her picking up again, or at least encouraging her.

She made sure to pack her cleanest, comfiest and least embarrassing under attire, a couple pairs of jeans, several shirts, a leather jacket, soap, deodorant, shampoo and some conditioner as well as her hair brush, tooth brush and paste. He may go rugged but she was not going that far. She spent eight months living out of a bag once before and if she was going to be gone for very long she wasn't going to completely rough it. She stashed some of her built up cash into the front pocket of her jeans, grabbed her sunglasses and locked up her room.

They headed out to the garage and she realized Logan had a new bike. Well, not new, but one she hadn't seen before. "It was time for a change." He said simply. Though she thought it was more than about the bike. He handed her a silver streaked helmet. "I knew ice chip would eventually mess up and given both our histories of…escaping from our problems…"

They were out of sight of the mansion before 9 a.m. and no one even knew (with the exception of a telepath or two that may have been awake). They'd figure it out soon enough. She wondered if anyone would care enough to wonder where they went or come looking for them. He knew the only person he would want to be found by was already on the back of his motorcycle. Her arms wrapped around his abdomen as he drove slower than normal. He could heal himself, but he could no longer heal her. And losing her would kill what was left of him.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: I don't own Marvel or any of it's characters. I hope you all like twists in a plotline.

"Where are we?" Marie asked Logan as they parked in front a drabby looking building after sunset in the middle of nowhere.

"We're at a bar; in Quebec."

"Canada!" Marie exclaimed. She wasn't sure if she was happy or upset that he took her so far aware from her home, the mansion.

"If I recall correctly, and I do, you once ventured this far on your own." And he was right. After all, that is where they first met.

"Either way, I need a drink. It's legal here you know."

"I know it is. But you're still not drinking." He told her.

"And exactly why not?"

"Because women who are pregnant shouldn't drink." He told her. He knew her and Bobby had become _close_ recently. She actually probably didn't even know she was pregnant until Logan told her. She was only a week and a half alone and hadn't missed a period yet. But Logan knew she smelled different. It took him a while to place the scent, at first he thought it was just her scent tinged with that of Bobby's, but it wasn't quite right. Then he noticed the way she glowed, was more careful with her steps, and let her hand lingered on her stomach from time to time. These were things she wouldn't have noticed yet, something he probably shouldn't tell her.

And he hated telling her.

He hated the idea of Bobby's, or any man's hands, upon her skin. Touching her in ways….he didn't want to know. Then he hated how Bobby had just ended things. _He got what he wanted and ditched her. _He thought. He hated that his little Marie was being ushered into such a responsibility. But aside from the side of him who thought she was too young for any of it, the other side of him hated it for different reasons. He hated that it had been Bobby to touch her so, he hated that someone had hurt her in such a way, but, most of all, he hated that this child was not his. This is why he was here to drink. He wanted to become numb to it.

"What? What are you sayin' 'can' be. I'm no. I don't even know. A woman shoul' know."

"I'm hate to tell you, but, you are."

"Now I really need a drink." She told him as she stormed into the bar.

"No you're not. My promise to protect you is carrying over to this baby, even if it is against you." He told her as he grabbed her arm gently, pulling her away from them bar.

"Then if I'm not allowed to drink, neither can you."

"Marie, no, things are different. It's not going to hurt the baby if I…"

"Since when did it 'come all 'bout the baby?"

"Alright, I won't drink. But we both need to eat something and get some sleep." He told her. Her stomach defeated her and agreed with Logan.

"Some breakfast sounds good. Maybe some hash browns, bacon, and a couple pancakes."

"Anything you want." He told her as he pulled her back onto the bike.

"But Logan, what am I going to do?" She asked him with worry and fear in her eyes.

"We'll figure something out. I promise." He told her as he pulled away from the bar and headed to the nearest place that served breakfast. When they found one place 10 miles down the road, they went inside and ate in silence, not sure what to say to one another. She ate with one hand on her stomach and her mind somewhere else. This wasn't supposed to happen. They had been careful. But she remembers one day, not so long ago that even the smallest of barriers Bobby had gotten angry about.

"_Come on Rogue."_

_"First off, its Marie, second off, don't you know what coul' happen if we didn't."_

_"Alright, fine." He said as he stormed off. She went to sleep that night. The days classes and arguments had warn her out. She barely dreamed and when she did the nightmares of those she had touched were still present. She woke up sore in the morning. He wouldn't have…but…they hadn't done anything in the weeks prior. How could he do that to her? Just take what he wanted, even after she had given him so much, including that with just one clause?_

"Are you sure?" Marie asked Logan.

"Yes."

"What about how long?"

"I'm pretty sure about that too." He told her. Before he could finish his last bite, she stormed out of the diner. He threw down enough to cover the meal and some money for a tip and followed her.

"Marie, what has gotten into you?" he asked her. She turned around and he saw the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I don't remember having sex then. I…no." It didn't take long for Logan to put things together. He had remember overhearing the little fights they had had over the matter of protection. He knew Bobby could do some dumb things at times, but not this.

"I don't want to go back. I can't face him." Luckily the ally was dark, because his claws came out. The urge to kill the boy crossed his mind, including several ways to accomplish it. "No Logan! You're not going to hurt him. I'm okay, I just…I can't believe."

"He needs to learn a lesson and I'm going to teach it to him." He told her.

"But I need you. I need you ta not leave me. If you hur' him, then you'll just end up in jail. I ain't gonna lose ya. You're the only family I have lef'." She told him, her southern accent weighing as heavy in her voice as her anger; no coincidence there. He dropped his defenses and held her in his arms, propping her head against his chest as he slowly stroked her hair, reassuring her he wasn't going to leave her.

"Then we need to find a place to stay for the night."

"Can we get a test to make sure?" She asked him. She was almost afraid to second-guess him because she knew he was right, she just needed the extra evidence.

"Anything you want Marie." He told her as he wiped the tears from her eyes and kissed her forehead.

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"It's positive." She told him from her seat next to him on the bed in their motel room.

"I know. Shhh…I know. We will figure things out. I'm not going to leave you."

"This poor chil' is never going to know their father, 'least not as their father."

"We don't have to go back. I can find a job around here. I'm going to take care of you." He told her, brushing her hair from her face. Her hands reached up to grab his, holding onto the promises he had made her.

"I can't ask that of you. I'll get a job and stay here. You can go back to the mansion if you like."

"Kid, the only thing that ever really kept me coming back to the mansion was you."

She smiled at him. "You know you're going to have to specify from now on when it comes to who you're calling kid." For the first time since she found out, she was happy.

"Alright. I guess you aren't a kid anymore." He told her. He kept the anger which was boiling inside of him to himself. No need to upset the moment. She wasn't a kid anymore. This was too much for her. She was always tied down to something; her mutation, Bobby, and now this baby. She was such a free spirit at heart, but they both seemed content in their new rolls. She had a baby to care for and he would be there to help them both.

"I'm going to sleep now. Are you sure this was the only room they had left?" She said as she remembered there was only one bed in their room.

"Yes, I'm sure. Didn't you see how crowded the town was? The lady at the desk said something about a convention in town." Logan told her. "I'll sleep in the floor if you like."

"No, you need your rest as well. It's a queen size bed, I think its big enough for us to share." She said with a smile on her face. He crawled in beside her and kissed her hair.

"Goodnight Marie and little one." He told her and the baby. She fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the flat pillow. Her breath evened out and her left hand never left the her belly. Logan couldn't sleep that night. He was in full protection mode. He feared someone would come after him and taking away the little bit of peace they had gained from this mess. They were going to make it through this together. And if it meant a return to cage fighting or hard labor, he was going to protect Marie and his newest charge. He was going to keep his promise to her.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: I'm not Marvel and therefore I don't own any of the X-men.

Work was easy to find, at least for Logan. It was logging season and there were few men left who were willing and able to do the work at hand. He fell right into place with a crew and the boss loved having him. He did his work and didn't complain. Hard work didn't bother Logan all that much to begin with, but on the days he felt like grabbing his bike and taking off, he thought of Marie and the baby he had promised to take care of. He knew he couldn't abandon them. Even though this child wasn't his, it was apart of Marie and he couldn't leave them at such a time. It wasn't just the obligation which kept him there; it was also the want to be there.

Marie had taken a few weeks to find a job. No one was all that interested in hiring an American girl, who sounded like she was in the deep south and who was pregnant to boot. Luckily, Logan's boss knew the person who owned the local diner and he hired her as a waitress. It wasn't the best job in the world, but it made her feel like she was helping out. But they both knew Logan's job brought in a lot more money than hers.

"We need to find you a doctor." Logan told her one night over dinner. She had started cooking again. Logan appreciated her Southern roots and the food which came with it. Soup beans, corn bread, and roast were regulars for dinner, and he wasn't about to complain.

"So Hank can hear about some pregnant girl strangely resembling one of the x-men from one of his doctor friends?"

"Not all doctors are that connected. And I doubt they will be hunting for us. My bike was missing and they know how we are, and how upset you were after…" Bobby's name had become taboo in the little apartment they shared. The stress wasn't good on the baby and Logan's claws weren't healthy for the furniture. "Marie, you're 2 months pregnant and this isn't the dark ages. You need to see a doctor."

"Fine. But if they find us, so help me if I don't take an cast iron skillet to the backside of your head." Marie told him.

Logan just tapped his head with his hand. "Adamantium, remember?"

"Doesn't mean it won't hurt." She told him, knowing she was right. They sit in relative silence for a while. The town thought they were living together for reasons other than why they were and everyone seemed convinced the baby was his. They didn't bother to correct anyone. He got a few frowns over their 'dating' at first; he seemed too old for her. Then they got to talking to Marie and realized that she was on the same maturity level as Logan, just more grounded.

"I'm turning in. You have an appointment at 9 a.m. with Dr. Smith. He said it shouldn't take too long and you will be able to make it to work when your shift starts at one."

"Okay, then I'm turning in as well." They both got up and headed to bed. The apartment only had one bedroom and one bed, but they didn't mind sharing. Neither of them slept all that well alone, they were plagued by nightmares, sometimes the same ones when the Wolverine took over their dreams. Somehow being so close to each other kept the nightmares at bay most nights. Tonight included.

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It was 8:30 and Logan had already left for work. He apparently made sure to set the alarm in order for her to wake up in time for her appointment. Marie rarely bothered to set an alarm because she worked later shifts and could wake up on her own. He had also made her a fresh pot of decaf coffee, even caffeine had become a thing of the past for her when she found out she was pregnant, not necessarily by her choice. She knew he meant well and she was just as protective over this baby as he was. The cold air in this part of Canada was enough to wake her up. A part of her would curse the cold and wish for the heat of Mississippi while the other part of her was so deeply in love with the cold because it reminded her of Logan.

By the time she was dressed and ready to leave, she had just enough time for the 5 minute walk to Dr. Smith's office. It was a small town they lived in and nothing, but the logging sites, were more than a walk away. She would probably even have time to go home and take a nap before her shift started. Dr. Smith's office was something so foreign and so familiar to her. It reminded her of the offices of some of the older doctors where she was from. They were the doctors who still thought almost everything could be cured by some tonic and peppermint. These were the doctors she would avoid more than the others. But this wasn't home and it made even the most alike things seem foreign.

She signed in and took her seat. The place wasn't very crowded so she figured her wait wouldn't be very long. She drifted off into thought instead of picking up a magazine to read. She wondered how the baby was doing, if it was a boy or a girl. She also hoped it would look more like her than _him._ She didn't want to look on her child's face and see him. She didn't want her joy to be tainted with bad memories.

"Mrs. D'Ancanto" a woman called to her from the doorway leading to the back of the office.

"It's Ms." She corrected.

"Sorry. Follow me, you will be in exam room 2." The woman showed her to the room in the back of the office. Apparently exam room 2 wasn't followed by an exam room 3. "My name is Elise. I'm going to check your blood pressure and pulse before Dr. Smith comes in." Elise grabbed a blood pressure cuff and started her mini assessment. "How are you feeling? When was your last menstrual period?"

"I'm feeling fine. It was about 2 and a half months ago, I don't remember the exact day." Marie told her.

"Alright. Will the father be coming to any of your visits?"

"I doubt it." She told him. She hoped he didn't. If he ever did, she might find some way to will her powers back and drain him. Then again, she didn't want him stuck in her head anymore than he already was.

"Okay. The doctor will be in shortly." Elise told her. She seemed nervous, but the edge on Marie's voice could make almost anyone feel that way. She closed her eyes and settled onto the uncomfortable exam table. She wasn't used to being up this early. She didn't get a chance to doze before the doctor came into the room and she sat back up.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Smith. You must be Marie. How are you doing today?"

"I'm doing alright. Just here to make sure everything is going fine with my baby." She left out the part about Logan conveniently making the appointment before telling her.

"So, you think believe you are about 8 weeks pregnant?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"And this is your first pregnancy?"

"Yes." She began to wonder how many 18 year olds he saw who were on their second or third kid.

"I'm glad you came in. In further appointments I will explain a little bit more about what will be going on during your pregnancy. First I want to give you the chance to ask any questions. So, do you have any right now?"

"No, not at this time." She wasn't big on questions and generally figured things out on her own.

"Well, if you ever have any questions, I or my nurse Elise would be glad to answer them. I am going to begin my exam, if you don't mind. Could you please lay down on the table?" She obliged him but heard a knock on the door.

"Just a minute." The doctor spoke loud enough for whoever was on the other side of the door.

"I'm here to see Marie." A gruff voice answered back. The man raised an eyebrow before seeking Marie's silent permission to open the door. She just nodded. Logan entered when the doctor opened the door. He looked like he had been working. He took a seat next to Marie.

"The boss told me I shouldn't miss this, something about bonding." Logan told her in a whisper. Marie couldn't help but smile at the thought of The Wolverine being bullied into holding his 'girlfriends' hand during her first prenatal exam by his boss. The exam was finished in no time and she only half listened to what the doctor said. She only nodded when he handed her the bottle of prenatal vitamins and told her to come back in a month. Once out of the office and earshot of everyone else, Marie couldn't help but to wonder if this was a one time thing.

"So, are you going to let your boss bully you into coming to all of my appointments?" She asked Logan while walking her fingers up his sternum.

"Well, I value my job and I'm not going to argue with a man who signs my paychecks."

"You mean you won't argue with him unless you don't agree with him." Marie said, snickering to herself.

"I was indifferent to the matter. I know you're a big girl and you would be okay by yourself…"

"But…."

"But I wanted to make sure I knew what the doctor's orders were in order to make sure you follow them." Logan said and took a breath. Marie was satisfied with the answer. "Plus it helps with our rouse." He said, almost too fast for her to hear.

"Come again."

"Me being their keeps people thinking the baby is mine. If they think it is mine, they won't think that you just seem to go from one man to another." The idea of this boiled both of their bloods. It boiled Logan's because he knew how people talked, and she wasn't that kind of girl. It boiled Marie's because she hadn't thought about that. She had already almost condemned herself for just being with _him_, and hadn't really thought about how things looked to others. "I don't want people to say anything. I know you're not like that. Plus, it will lead to fewer questions. They just see us as the couple who just happened to wonder into town looking for work, not the two friends escaping from something, including the baby's father."

"Don't you ever call him that again!" Marie told Logan while pinning him against the wall of the nearest building. Luckily the streets were pretty bare this time of day and no one noticed.

"I didn't mean anything by it." He told her and took her by the wrists to release himself from the wall. He was careful not to hurt you. He waited until they made it inside their small apartment before continuing. "Do you think I like the idea of it, because I don't. I didn't like the idea of you dating him much less you having a child by him. Marie, we have to face facts, I don't think we can hid this forever. What are you going to do when this child asked about their dad? You can't just tell him or her they don't have one, because I don't think it will work."

"So, what would you rather me tell the kid, 'oh your daddy is this guy who took advantage of your mommy and then broke up with her a week later.'? For some reason, I don't think it will go over too well. And what if _he_ finds out? How do you think he will react? Knowing him he'll runny to mommy and daddy and they'll do everything they can to get custody of their grandchild from the evil Rogue. After all, what good would ever come to the child with my wayward and sinful ways?" She told him and started to cry.

"Marie, Marie, look at me." Logan took his hand under her chin in order for her to look at him. "Is this what you really think?" She just whimpered. "You're not a bad person. We all make mistakes. You thought _he_ wouldn't treat you like he did, you couldn't have known things would have turned out the way they did. If you really don't want _him_ to know, then we will figure something out." He kissed her forehead, trying to reassure her. His voice soothed her. He seemed to take on a different tone when he wanted to encourage her, wanted her to know everything was going to be fine.

"Okay." She said, wiping the tears from her cheeks, the wave of near ones slowing down.

"Now, I am going to go back to work. Will you be fine while I'm gone?"

"Yes Logan. I'll be fine. I have to be at work in a few hours anyways." She told him as he embraced her before walking out the door. She was glad he was here, even if everything wasn't figured out. She made her way back to bed to take a nap, making sure to set the alarm. She needed something to busy her mind, and until work, sleep would have to suffice.


	4. Chapter 4

**Note:** I don't own the X-Men. I really hope you all enjoy this chapter, I know I do.

Logan had been quick to adjust to the town. Canada had always been the place he considered home and Marie was happy to be where he was. This little town had begun to grow on her. It still wasn't home in Mississippi or Xavier's, but the people were friendly. Elise had been good to answer the questions she had had over the last 3 months and they had bonded, surprisingly. She was even helping Marie with a quilt for the baby.

Her boss was always quick to question her about how she was feeling. Some days her accent would come out heavier than others, sickness or stress exaggerating it. On those days he would find something for her to do which didn't involve her standing for 8 hours straight. Sometimes she was responsible for just ringing up orders and answering the phone.

When she did wait tables, her customers were excited about the expectant mother. Her regulars would comment on how they couldn't believe she was so far along and the women offered home remedies for stretch marks and swollen ankles. She hadn't experienced any stretch marks yet, but she tried multiple remedies to help with the swollen ankles. The new customers, once they looked passed the white in her hair, and the drawl in her speech, would always ask when she was due, what it was going to be, and if they had thought of any names. She would tell them she was due in May and they didn't know the gender yet and hadn't really decided on any names. She didn't really even know if she wanted to know what the baby was going to be. She was fine with a girl or a boy and almost liked the idea of a surprise. The pregnancy had been going well and this almost worried her. Marie wasn't accustomed to things just going right.

Deep winter had set in, it was now late December, and Logan's logging job had come to a stand still. The neighboring town had needed a mechanic and he jumped at the job. Marie loved the way he actually seemed happy about going to work. He also seemed happy about coming home. He would open the door to the apartment and take his shoes off. Marie was normally finishing up dinner by the time he walked in. But before he would make his way to the shower, to wash off the grease of the day, he would make his way over to Marie rub her cheek with a thumb and kiss her on the forehead. A grease stained cheek and two smiles were left in the aftermath. After his shower he would make his way back to the table in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, he tried showing up to dinner without a shirt and Marie threw a pregnancy hormone driven fit. She went on about how rude it was to show up to a table half nude and that if he insisted on continuing such a barbaric behavior he could fix his own meals from now on. Since then, he decided a wearing a shirt would be a small price to pay to keep her calm and cooking. This had become their routine.

The long winter nights had been spent without covers. Logan's natural hot nature and Marie's pregnancy induced hot nature made the winter comfortable with just a sheet and light throw. Some mornings they would wake up in each others arms, no doubt from the temperature dropping while they slept. The mornings when this would happen, they both seemed hesitant to move away from the other. Logan would leave his arm thrown over Marie, his hand resting on her ever-expanding belly. Marie would leave her hand clasped around the same hand. Neither would bother to move away from the other. Marie would leave her back firm against his chest and Logan didn't seem to mind how her head had rested on his shoulder in the middle of their bed. The alarm clock would be the only thing to bring about movement.

On mornings like this, Logan wouldn't bother to take a shower. He wanted her scent to linger on him as long as it could. Most days he would wear the same shirt he slept in underneath his work jumpsuit. He would revel in the scent all day, picking up on its ever fading faint hints underneath the smell of gasoline and motor oil. The guys at work would look at him like he was a guy who got some the night before. They gave credit to her pregnancy hormones and started to become jealous when the frequency increased from once a week to almost every night. Logan wouldn't bother to correct them most of the time.

But on days when the talk became too much, the days when the "lucky guy" statements turned into something more, when the men talked of how good she must be in bed with her nice body and feisty side, he was quick to put them in their place. _No one _was going to talk about _his _Marie in such ways. While she wasn't his in the way everyone around here seemed to think, she was still his. They were friends, which was odd for Logan. A man like him shouldn't be so happy about just holding a woman, Marie.

Marie would linger in the bed, almost unmoving until the remainder of Logan's body heat dissipated and the cold became too much for her. She would go through her days thinking about what it had been for Logan. She could feel the feelings she had once had for Logan growing. She had always cared about him as a friend and as someone who could at least partially understand her. Now the crush she had had for him some time ago had begun to turn into something more. She wanted to be around him, felt alone at home when he wasn't there. They had become close friends and companions. Maybe the guise they had gone along with had drawn them closer. She knew she cared about him deeply and he seemed to do the same, but he was Logan. And Logan wasn't really the type to give his heart and his feelings up so freely.

He wasn't the type to give up his heart at all.

"Are you ready for your appointment?" Logan asked her. He was standing by the door, wearing the shirt from last night, waiting for her to emerge from the bathroom. He slowly saw the figure of the 5 month pregnant Marie wobble out of the bathroom. Her hair was pulled back, all except the white streaks on both sides. He loved and hated those streaks. They were a sign of both how he had failed her by not saving her sooner or preventing the crime which had befallen her to begin with and how he had succeeded in saving her because they were on her warm breathing form.

"Yes. All set to go. I thought you would have went to work today. You don't have the excuse of your boss making you go this time."

"Then is it okay with you if I want to go?" He asked her. She stopped her approach towards him and the door and just stared at him for a second, unspeaking. He was the one to close the gap between them. "I made a promise to take care of you and this baby. I want to be there. If something is wrong or right I want to know. So I'm going, with or without you."

"It's not going to do ya much good to talk to Dr. Smith if he doesn't have a patient ta look at." She told him.

"Then don't make me carry you, because I will." His look was serious.

"No need, lets go." She said as she grabbed her coat and sauntered out of the apartment door. The walk to the office wasn't a long one and Marie had stayed quiet throughout the first part of it. Logan had followed her lead. She wanted to break the silence, wanted to find a way to word what she wanted to say.

"I was thinking about James."

"What about James?" Logan questioned, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Well, if the baby is a boy, I thought it would be a nice name." She had spent the past week thinking about it. Logan was such a part of this baby, and, if it was a boy, she felt this is one way she could give Logan a tie to the baby, by giving the baby Logan's name.

"Marie, I don't know what to say." He said, staring blankly into the space in front of him.

"Don't. It was a stupid idea. Just forget I ever mentioned it." She said as she pushed herself forward in a hurry. Logan reached for her wrist to keep her from getting too far.

"No. It…I…I would be honored." He told her and her face softened. His full name was something he had figured out in the past year and had shared with her, and only her, before they had left the mansion.

"Really?" She asked, a smile spreading across her face.

"Yes, really." He told her, returning her smile. He probably wouldn't tell her, but he had been turning the same name over in his mind. "Now we need to get to the appointment." Today they should find out if the baby was a boy or a girl. They made their way into the office and Logan signed her in. Their wait wasn't long and Elise took them back like she had done on all their other visits.

"Are you excited? I'm sure you are. Anyhow, Dr. Smith will be in shortly." Elise said as she finished up her beginning appointment routine and walked out of the room. Logan heard her whispers in the hall about how happy they seemed today. Before Marie had time to question his added smirk, Dr. Smith came in.

"Alright Marie, I'm going to have you lie down and I will start the ultrasound." Dr. Smith told her. Marie made herself as comfortable as she could as Dr. Smith grabbed the transducer of the ultrasound and the cold blue gel. She raised her blouse up and reached out a hand to Logan who took it in his. The doctor mumbled on about some things, things which they seemed to ignore. They were no different than the previous visit.

"Would you like to know the sex of the baby?" He asked looking towards Logan and Marie. Logan looked to her and they smiled at one another in silent agreement.

"Yes." Marie told the doctor.

"Alright….well, it looks like you are having a boy." The doctor told them.

Marie placed a hand on her belly and whispered "James." The doctor did not hear her, but Logan did. He squeezed her hand causing her to turn towards him. Their eyes met and everything which needed to be said was said in the way they looked at one another.

"I'll need to see you back in another month. After the next visit, I'll start seeing you every couple of weeks." Dr. Smith told them. They nodded as Marie cleaned the gel off of her stomach. Once the doctor had exited the room, Logan helped Marie off of the exam table, wrapped his arm around her shoulders, she wrapped her arm around his waist and they headed home.

Once inside, they took their coats and shoes off. Marie made to move towards the kitchen to fix something to eat, but Logan couldn't let her go just yet. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and spun her around to face him. Their eyes locked again and he closed the distance between them. He placed a hand on her cheek, stroking one of the white locks of hair and pulled her face towards his until his lips met hers. It did not last for long, but Marie began to wonder if Magma had stopped by because it felt like the ground was quaking beneath her.

When they broke their kiss, Marie smiled at him. "What was that about?"

"I was just kissing the mother of my child." He answered her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I am not Marvel and therefore I don't own the X-Men or any of the characters. I'm not making money off of this (if I could, it wouldn't be on here) since I don't own any rights to the characters.

**Author's Note: ** This chapter is a bit shorter than my others, but it is packed. The first part of this chapter is from Marie's point of view. It was inspired by the song "Walk Away Joe" by Trisha Yearwood. I don't own the rights to this song or artist either. Enjoy!

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It's 9 o'clock. He said he would be late.

It's 10 o'clock. He said he would be late. He is probably finishing up and heading home.

It's 11 o'clock. He said he would be late. He is probably stopping to get a bite to eat. He knew I would have already eaten.

It's midnight. He said he would be late. He is probably arguing with the manager about the food and getting a free slice of pie for his troubles.

It's 1 o'clock. He said he would be late. He probably ran into some friends on his way out of the diner. He probably went to grab a beer with them.

It's 2 o'clock. He said he would be late. He is probably heading out of the closed bar, laughing with his buddies. He should be home in a little bit.

It's 3 o'clock. He said he would be late. The bars closed an hour ago. Nothing is really open at this hour. He should be home by now. But he said he would be late.

What am I talking about? This is Logan. He is doing what Logan does, chasing tail or runnin'. Maybe even both. Forget him. He wasn't the type to stay. Momma wouldn't have liked him, she would have said he was bad news, and she would have been right. The radio switched songs. Go figure the only country song they would play around here would be "Walk Away Joe." I don't need him to take care of me. I can take care of myself and _my_ baby. And I'm going to start by going to bed and getting some sleep.

It's 4 o'clock. The door to the apartment opening wakes me up. A worn out man stands before me. He looks dead on his feet. He said he would be late. He doesn't bother to shower or even take off his shoes. He just collapses on the bed, probably asleep before his body hit the bed. I get up and take his boots off and sit them by the door. I grab a spare blanket and cover him up. Something is different. I feel as if I am missing something. I lie on the bed next to him. I am still tired. Neither of us have to work today so it is okay if we sleep in. Before I fall asleep, his arm reaches around me, like it always does. He hand rests on my stomach, its getting harder for him to reach around me. I am 7 months pregnant now. I place my hand on top of his. I am surprised about how cold one spot on his hand is. I inspect the area closer. I feel cool metal, a ring? I'm too tired to think clearly. Maybe I'm imagining things. I'll find out when we wake up.

"Good night Logan." He said he would be late. "I'm sorry I doubted."

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The sun came up at half past seven but it did not wake them. Three hours later, Logan stirs. He realizes the state he is in, dirty and sleeping in the clothes her wore yesterday. He wondered how he could have let himself do that and how she could put up with the filthy mess he was last night. He needed to shower. But he took the time to take out the piece of silver which had felt like it was burning a hole in his pocket, and placed it in her hand. She would see it when she woke up.

He couldn't think of how else to do what he was planning. Somehow the traditional route just didn't fit either one of them. So he settled for this. Maybe she would like it.

He made his way to the shower. The hot water felt amazing to his tired muscles. He was too relaxed to hear the sounds of Marie getting up. She had noticed the cold that accompanied his absence. When she woke up, she felt something in her hand. She heard the water running and knew he held the answers to her questions. She made her way into the bathroom, surprised her approach had been unnoticed. She couldn't wait until he got out of the shower, she felt she might explode if she had to wait a second longer to ask her questions. She stepped into the shower, with her clothes on, she didn't even take the time to undress.

"What's this?" Marie asked Logan as she faced him in the shower. He didn't know what to say. He just pulled her close and kissed her. "Is this what I think it is?" She asked, just wanting him to answer. All he could do was shake his head yes, and take the object from her.

"If you want it to be." He told her. She smiled and he placed the ring on the same finger his was on.

"Why silver? Aren't they normally gold?"

"Not always. You never seemed the type for gold. Silver reminds me of the streaks in your hair and the metal that runs through me. I'm going to find someone to make an adamantium set. I don't want them to be able to be broken." He told her. He had thought about this for a month now. He had looked at the jewelers out of town and even measured her finger while she slept. How to ask had been his biggest challenge. He wasn't the type to get down on one knee, though he would for her. But she didn't seem like the type either. This just seemed more like them. No tradition, just them.

"Now, are you going to let me finish my shower or join me?"

"I think I'll join you. Just let me get out of these clothes." She told him. She generally had to have him help anyways. It had become rather difficult to clean her feet and legs well without falling over. She hopped back in the shower, but curiousity was still getting the best of her. "Where were you all last night?"

"I'll show you after the shower." He told her. He cleaned her feet and back, made sure she was clean before he had her scrub his back. Between her hands and the warm water, he was nearly purring. They washed off, got out of the shower, and dressed comfortably. Neither felt like jeans today. Once they were dressed, Logan led her outside. At first she didn't realize what answers she could get, but then she saw a black car.

"It's a Honda Civic. It isn't the fanciest thing in the world, but it is safer than the bike. It needed a new engine when I bought it with some of the money I had saved. I traded the bike for the parts and spent last night working on it."

"So this is why you were late?"

"Yes. I wanted it to be a surprise for you and the baby."

"Thank you. I was kinda wonderin' where we were gonna put the car seat on the bike."

"We weren't. And you weren't getting back on the bike that pregnant. You have a hard enough time reaching your arms around your belly, much less reaching around it and holding on to me."

"Well, you could have always let me drive and you hold on to me."

"Don't think so. Anyways, I'm hungry. Let's go grab a bite to eat. Hop in." She got into the car. It was nice so much more comfortable than the bike. They made their way to the diner. She had hoped to stay away from the place today, but their pancakes were amazing. As usual, Logan ordered more for her than just the pancakes. He made sure she ate what her body and the baby needed.

When Shirley sat down the pancakes, hash browns, and eggs for Marie, she noticed the rings they were wearing. "Congratulations! I didn't know you two were thinking about getting married. Marie blushed and Logan answered for them both.

"We just figured we might as well. We've been living together for some time now, plus with the baby. I just thought it was time I made an honest woman out of her." He didn't break eye contact with Marie. He wasn't sure if the phrase "honest woman" was very common. It was probably something he had picked up from Marie or some of the other Southern mutants he had spent time around. But it seemed to fit. He could see the sorrow in her eyes when she prayed at night. Asking for forgiveness each night for the things she had done. Finding herself pregnant and living with a man wasn't exactly what her mother would have had in mind for her. Being a mutant was something she couldn't help at first, it was God given; being with a man before marriage was something she could help.

When Shirley stepped away, Marie had to stifle her laughter. "An honest woman? Do you have any idea how funny that sounds coming from you?"

"Well. It's the truth." He said and they went back to their meals.

"Well come on hubby, it's time to take your honest woman home." She told him after they had finished their food.

When they made it home, they went straight to bed. Content to just be in one another's arms.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I'm not Marvel so I don't own x-Men or any of their characters. Though the idea for James is my own, pretty much.

**Author's Note:** For the sake of the story and going with the original X-Men characteristics, Logan's eyes are blue. He did go by Howlett while they were in Canada, so it was expected for James to have Howlett as his last name.

The baby came in late Spring, near the end of May. He was named James Xavier Howlett. He had brown locks and baby blue eyes, which everyone would think were Logan's. He had Marie's lips and her nose. He would be a heartbreaker one day, maybe. He was 6 weeks old today.

"Marie, I've got James ready, you need to hurry if we are going to make it in time for your appointment." Logan told her. For some reason he was having to rush her. He had read that today may be the day they get the "all clear" for certain activities. He was anxious. After all, they were married, in all aspects except the legal and consummation areas.

"I'm comin'." she shouted at him as she stepped out of the bathroom. She hadn't gained much actual weight with the baby, but a pound or two still clung to her. Logan loved it. It just added to her curves. She was dressed in jeans and a flowing sleeveless blouse. Ever since her cure, she left uncovered what she could. It was pretty out today so they walked to Dr. Smith's.

They went straight back. It was a slow day. The doctor came in and started his exam. "Well, it wasn't a rough labor at all. I don't think I've ever seen a first time mom do so well. No damage was done and you and the baby seem to be doing well. I won't have to see you again unless you start to have problems. You are free to resume normal activities." The doctor told her. She wanted to jump for joy. She always hated being limited, but now Logan wouldn't have to completely hold back. She had been looking forward to this day. Today they could do what man and wife should do.

They headed back home hand in hand. Logan carried James. Marie wondered when the child would learn to walk. Logan would hardly put him down except when it was time for him to feed, and even then he would watch with a satisfied smile on his face. How much was because of Marie and how much was because of James, neither knew. They made it back to the apartment and Marie sat down to feed James, lowering one arm of her top. James was nearly lulled to sleep when something strange happened.

_Wolverine. Rogue. Your presence is requested at Xavier's Mansion._

"Did you hear that?" Marie asked Logan.

"Yes. It sounded like Emma. Maybe I should call and see what is going on." Logan said as he grabbed the cell phone. He dialed the number to Xavier's and reached Ororo.

"What is going on? Emma just did the whole mind thing like Charles used to do…. Yeah. Okay…. Yes, Marie is with me. We'll be headed out by tonight." Logan closed the phone and turned to Marie who was still breast feeding.

"I talked to Storm. Something is going on and she couldn't explain in detail over the phone. They need us back at the mansion. I'm going to go ahead and pack our stuff. I'm going to call the shop and tell them we have a family emergency and will be leaving. You can call the diner and tell them the same."

"When should I tell them we will be back?"

"I don't know Marie." He told her. This worried her. "I've paid the apartment up about 3 months in advance. If we need to come back, it will be here for that time, but I'm packing everything we can take which belongs to us." Now Marie was worried. This wasn't going to be just a visit because they were missing them, something may be seriously going on. But what could she do? She was powerless now. And they had James to think about. Even if she could fight, Logan wouldn't let her this time. It was one thing to let a friend or a wife fight and an entirely different thing to let a mother fight. He was not going to risk leaving James an orphan.

She packed what she could with James on her hip. Some of the furniture would have to be left. Their clothes and most of their belongings would fit in the trunk, including the basinet when it was disassembled. In less than 30 minutes they had made their calls and had everything packed in the car. Marie had called Elise and asked her to keep an eye on the place. She hated the idea of leaving her new friend. They shut the door and Logan locked it at Marie placed James in his car seat.

Logan made his way to Marie, gently cupped her face in his hands and reiterated his promises. "I'm not going to let anything happen to either of you." He kissed her, a silent seal to the promise he had made. They got in the car and drove as fast as Logan felt safe with his wife and child in the vehicle.

The drive was long and filled with thoughts. Marie didn't know what to make of things. She didn't know why she would be called. She could understand Logan, he was a valuable member of the X-Men; if there was a battle he would be needed. But she was no longer the Rogue, she was just Marie now. If they had called for Logan, she and James would have gone with him. They could barely spend their days at work apart, much less have so much distance between them. She wondered if they knew about James. Maybe Emma had been keeping an eye on them from such a distance. She wonders if they know about James. She learned a long time ago that if a group of mutants go looking for something, they generally find it. If they had seen him, they would probably believe Logan was his father. They had both stopped thinking of it being any other way, except in moments of fear.

What if Bobby was still there they both wondered. He most likely would be. He had assumed a position as a member of the X-Men before they left and he was very dedicated to that. Marie still slightly feared him. He had taken something from her and she also feared losing James. Logan was still angry. He wanted to rip him to shreds, but Marie had been right about the need to stay calm. They had formed a plan before if ever faced with him again. They would act as if he hadn't violated her so. If Bobby believed he was the only one who knew about what happened, then he wouldn't speak up if he thought James was his biological child. The story was Marie found comfort in Logan and their friendship blossomed into something more the night after they left the mansion. The times were close enough and they didn't believe anyone would really question it.

Logan had heard the concern in Ororo's voice. Something was going on and he was almost afraid to bring Marie and James into the mist of it. He hadn't heard about anything going on, though he hadn't paid much attention to the news, much less what was going on in the States, and most of their enemies weren't much of a problem anymore. Magneto and Mystique had been de-powered and the Brotherhood had basically fallen apart since then. Everything seemed to be going fine when they left.

As night began to consume the sky, Logan spotted the mansion, lit only by the lights from inside and the faint sliver of the moon. Marie and James had fallen asleep after his last feeding. He woke her up as they approached the locked gates. Logan pushed the button on the intercom, announcing they had arrived and the gates were opened to them. He pulled the car to the front of the mansion where Hank and Ororo stood.

"Welcome home." Ororo greeted them as Logan and Marie opened their doors. Marie opened the back door and took the carseat out of the car with a sleeping James in it.

"It's good to see you all." Marie said. Ororo looked on in amazement and surprise at the sleeping child. "This is James."

"Welcome to you too, little friend." Ororo told the baby while reaching down to get a better look at him. She was smiling. While children were all over the place, babies were a rarity in the mansion.

"It's good to see you old friend." Logan told Hank as he patted him on the back.

"Same to you Logan." Hank said before turning his attention to the child. "What a beautiful baby. He looks so much like you Marie. I can't see Logan in him at all."

"You say that like it's a good thing." Logan joked.

"And you say it like it a bad thing." Hank replied.

"Alright, so his mother is prettier than his father. I'll agree."

"Wait until he opens his eyes." Marie chimed in. "You'll see Logan there."

"Well we aren't going to wake baby. Marie, I will take you and the baby to Logan's old room. I'm assuming you will be sharing, judging by a baby and matching rings." Ororo said as she opened the front door of the mansion.

"Hank, can you help me unload some things?" Logan asked as he opened the trunk.

"Sure thing my friend." Hank said as he made his way to the back of the car.

Once inside Marie was not shocked with how little the mansion had changed. It had been less than a year since she left, and few people thought to change the place. She assumed most of the students were in bed and the near silence was a result of this. When she made it up the stairs she was greeted by her young friend Jubilation Lee.

"It's good to see you and oh….who is this little bundle of joy?!" Jubilee said in a voice Marie feared would wake the baby.

"This is James. He is 6 weeks old." She told him.

"So who's the lucky papa?" Jubilee asked while cooing the baby.

"Logan." Marie replied and Jubilee shot up from her crouched stance.

"You tamed the Wolverine!?!"

"Yes, she did." Logan replied to her question before they realized he was in the mansion. "And James here helped as well." Logan finished as he kissed Marie on her cheek, his arms full. "I'm going to go ahead and put this stuff in our room. Catch up with the fire cracker here, just don't let her wake the baby." He walked off headed towards their room. Hank followed shortly behind him.

Jubilee giggled. She had never fully warmed up to Logan. He knew Rogue was good friends with him, but she had always found him slightly scary. He seemed to have softened a bit on the edges but was still fiercely protective. Some things never change.

"So, are you hungry? Maybe we should grab something to eat while they are moving things in."

"Sounds good. I'll fix something for Logan as well." Marie replied. As she walked the halls and stairs on her way towards the kitchen, she wondered who was there. Of her fellow students, other than Jubilee there was only one face she would like to see.

"Is Jimmy still here?" She asked Jubilee and Ororo as they made their way downstairs.

"He is. He has been wondering where you went. He missed you. You know he had started to bond with you before he left." Ororo replied.

"Is he asleep? When can I see him?" Marie asked. Jubilee and Ororo just smiled. They knew Jimmy liked to be out in the kitchen at this hour. He didn't have to worry about stealing the powers of others as much. He was much like Rogue in this way.

When they arrived to the kitchen, Marie was excited to see the young boy she had missed sitting at the table eating a bowl of cereal.

"Marie?" he asked.

"Yes, Marie. I've missed you." She told him as she hugged him with her free arm.

"Are you back for good?" he asked her. He wanted to know the one person who seemed to understand him would be staying.

"We will see." She let go of their embrace. "This is James. He is my son." James was awake now, no doubt hungry as well. "Say hi to your uncle Jimmy." Marie said as she cooed her son into smiling. By this time Logan and Hank had made their way into the kitchen as well.

"Fire cracker, I told you not to wake the baby." Logan told Jubilee.

"She didn't, he's just hungry." Marie told Logan as he picked the baby up.

"My my, he does have your eyes, Logan." Ororo said.

"Where's everyone else?" Logan asked as Marie draped a blanket over her shoulder and chest in preparation to feed the baby. When she was seated, he handed the baby over to her. "Emma called us, I had expected to see her when we arrived."

"Welcome Logan, Marie, James." Emma says from a dark corner of the doorway to the kitchen. "Yes, I know about the child. This is why I asked you to come here."

"What is this about? He's just a baby."

"A rather exceptional baby." Emma replied. "Come. I had planned on discussing this later, but I feel we all want answers." She said as she made her way to office which had once been Professor Xavier's. Logan put an arm around Marie who was carrying James and they made their way to the office. Hank and Ororo had been told to wait, but they would be filled in soon.

"Alright, I want to know what you know." Logan told her. "If it concerns my son then it concerns me.

_I know the truth about things, but this small fact does not matter. _"James is rather exceptional. Sometimes mutants, and yes, he is a mutant, take on some characteristic similar to that of their parents. Kirk for example took on the blue skin of Raven, his mother. James' mutation is exceptional. It is very similar to the one Rogue possessed, yet much stronger. When he comes fully into his powers, he will be able to transfer powers by touch, not just take them for himself. He also seems to be immune to the mutant cure. I believe this has to do with Marie receiving it. His body built antibodies against it. He has also taken on some of your characteristics Logan."

Logan stopped his pacing once he heard this. How could James receive some of his genetic characteristics?

"You were around him so much and the influence became stronger. He will have some abilities to heal, but it will not be as strong as yours, although they have already manifested. This is why Marie had such a smooth pregnancy."

"NO!" Marie said as she handed James to Logan. "He can't. Why couldn't he have just looked like me. He didn' have to be cursed!" She broke into a fit of tears. Logan made to comfort her, but Emma was by her side before he could reach her.

"He will be able to control his powers." Emma told her. This soothed Marie, but it did not fully quench the pain of knowing the burden her son would carry with being responsible for the lives around him. "And he will be able to choose what he takes." Marie stopped her crying and looked at Emma in interest, as did Logan. "He can choose to take the powers for himself or transfer them. He can also duplicate the power and leave the one he touches with what they already possess. While he has the potential to kill, with time and training, he will be able to choose whether he takes the memories and the life force with the power."

"So this is why we are here." Logan says.

"Yes. He will need training. And it will take all of the X-men to accomplish this. _Ororo, Hank, Jubilation, Jimmy, please come in_. The four entered the office. "His training will start when he begins to manifest. Until then, he will be under the protection of Xaviers, if you wish.

"We want what is best for our son." Marie tells her.

"Then welcome back. Will you resume your places on the X-men?"

"I will, but Marie will not." Logan tells Emma, placing a hand on Marie's shoulder.

"I think this is for Marie to answer. She may be your wife, but she is still her own person as well." Ororo tells Logan.

"I don't know what good I would be on the team. I don't have my powers anymore."

"We can discuss this more in depth tomorrow. I feel we all need rest and time to let the news sink in. Good night all." Emma tells them as she leaves the office. Slowly everyone filters out and go to their respective rooms.

Marie took James in her arms as Logan wrapped his arms around her waist. He brought his lips next to her ear and whispered "I believe we still have the all clear." He grinned into her hair. While they day hadn't gone as planned, Marie's heart still stopped and her breath hitched at this idea. They went away silently to their room, locking the door, and placing James in his basinet. Their rest would have to wait for a few more hours.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the X-Men. Marvel does.

**Author's Note:** I'm introducing a new character in this chapter, as well as bringing back a few more. The new character and some of what she can do is my idea. There are some X-Men Evolution: Wolverine (which I don't own) spoilers towards the end. Enjoy!

The next day came too early for Logan and Marie. They had had a long drive and little sleep. But they had an amazing night and both seemed to be glowing. Their wake up call came in the form of Jubilation Lee knocking on their door.

"Wake up. We're having a meeting in 30 minutes. See you in Emma's office."

"Sending a girl to do a man's work." Logan gripped.

"All she did was wake us up." Marie told him

"And you know waking me up normally doesn't go very well."

"Well, a shower will wake you up. I'm going to feed James and then get mine." Marie told him.

Twenty five minutes later they were making their way to what was now Emma Frost's office. Today they were able to notice the subtle differences. Where there had once been no chair behind the desk in order to make room for Xavier's wheelchair, there now set a black leather chair. Some of the books on the shelves were different as well.

There were several seats gathered around a table which sat in the main office. Hank, Ororo, Warren, Kurt, Piotr, and Jubilee had already taken their seats. A new woman sat near the head of the table, next to Hank. She had blonde hair that went to her waist, with warm silver eyes. She looked and smelled friendly to Logan. She seemed nervous to Marie. She recognized the way she folded her hands and fiddled with her straight hair that softly curled towards the ends. Logan and Marie, with James in her arms, made their way to their seats, Logan sitting next to Hank and Marie next to him. Emma sat down at the head of the table. Two seats were unfilled across from the new couple were left unfilled.

Emma began the meeting. Shortly after she had started, the door was opened and Robert Drake and Kathryn Pryde made their way to the two vacant seats. Robert sat across from Logan and Kathryn sat across from Marie. Marie placed a hand on top of Logan, her fingers obstructing the area where his claws would come out, like she knew they were itching to do. Logan couldn't help notice the way Bobby and Kitty seemed to be a couple, or the way Bobby eyed Marie and James. It was as if he wondered if James could be his. Marie noticed this two and knew she would silence this idea of his soon.

"As I was saying, I called this meeting for several reasons. One being to officially welcome back Logan and Marie to the team and the mansion, and to introduce their son James. While he will not see battle anytime soon, there is no doubt that he will be a future member of the X-Men." Logan was still uneasy about this idea. It was one thing for him and for Marie at one time, to be putting their life on the line; it was another thing for his son. He understood all too well how being one of the most powerful can make you the most vulnerable. "I also want to welcome a new member to the team. She is a friend of Dr. McCoy's, so I will let him handle the introductions."

"This is Dr. Iliana Martin. I met her at a genetics convention six months ago. She entered the medical field as a nurse, has a masters in theology, nursing education, and a doctorate in genetics. She has agreed to join the team in both a teaching and medical capacity as well as joining the X-Men and helping to financially support the institute. She has strong telekinesis and with practice and further study has taken this one step further. I will let her demonstrate."

The blonde haired woman who had been seated next to Hank and near Emma stands up. "Logan, if I may." Logan stands up, anxious to see what this woman can do. She seems to do nothing for almost a minute, like she is in deep concentration. "Will you please extend your claws?" They have been itching him lately. It was unlike him to leave them caged so long. He does as he has been asked, letting the adamantium rip through his skin. But something is different. Only five areas hurt. Logan and the rest of the room look to his hands and only see five claws extended; the one on his right hand, nearest his pinky is missing.

"What did you do?" Logan asks in an outraged voice, toned down by the presence of his wife and child. Hank sits smugly in his seat, smiling at his friend.

"Isn't it amazing?" Hank says.

"Well, I would like to know what she did first."

"Put the claws back, we shall explain." Hank says and Logan recoils his claws. "She has been able to use her telekinetic power on a microscopic level. With practice, she has been able to isolate the genetic mutation and keep it from sending signals to the rest of the DNA in a particular area, essentially disabling your mutation." The rest of the room, with the exception of Hank, Emma, and Iliana, look surprised.

"It is not very strong yet. I can only do it on small areas. I have yet to be able to use it on a whole basis." Iliana says shyly. Logan can sense how nervous she is. "It isn't permanent, just temporary. It takes a lot of work right now. I have only recently honed my skills to this point." Logan unsheathes the claws again and counts six.

"Can you do it while the mutation is in active use, like when ice boy is in ice cube form?" Logan says, volunteering the one person in the room he would love to rip to shreds. Bobby is quick to stand and turns his body into solid ice.

"It's Iceman, never was 'ice boy' or any of your variations." Logan wondered if 'rapist ice prick' would be an acceptable variation. It was true and he was tempted to say so, but Marie gave him a stern look, knowing full and well what he was thinking. After all, Logan was still in her head after all this time.

Iliana went into concentration mode again and slowly Iceman's ice hand began to turn back into flesh. It was brief, but noticeable. "It is harder to do, but yes, I can. I am still working on this. Before I assume any positions within this organization, I want to seek the approval of the rest of you. I know Emma and Hank are anxious to have me here, but I don't want to inconvenience or make anyone uncomfortable by my presence. If you will all excuse me, I am tired from my demonstration. In time I will be able to control it better, but for now it takes everything in me." She said as she walked towards the door. Hank followed, taking her hand as he escorted her down the hall and to one of the guest rooms.

"She is a very wonderful woman and I feel she will be valuable to the team and the school, but she wants your vote on this." Emma said. "All in favor?" And every member raised their hand, except Logan and Marie.

"Logan and Marie, do you not want her on the team?"

"I didn't realize we could vote."

"You are still part of the team." Emma said. Bobby snickered.

"Do you have a problem?" Emma asked him

"Yes, I do. How can you let them just take off one day, essentially abandoning the team, and welcome them back with open arms another? As far as I'm concerned, Marie gave up her position on the team the moment she took the cure, and Logan gave up his when he ran away the last time." Bobby's eyes are fierce. He hates the idea of Logan and Marie being on the team. And he hates the idea of this little brat requiring their protection for at least a decade.

Logan is stands up before Bobby finishes speaking, making sure to place himself between Bobby and Marie who is holding James. "Now listen here ice prick, have you ever stopped to consider why those things happened? She had a boyfriend she wanted to be able to hold hands with, so she took the cure. Then said boyfriend broke her heart and I did what a good friend does and got her out of here and away from you before she lost her mind. We came back because we were asked and we were willing to put up with you for the sake of the others."

"Yeah, some good friend you are. From the looks of it you took advantage of her. She is at least half your age and you get her out of the mansion, when she is all broken hearted as you say, for less than a month before you coaxed her into your bed or wherever the filthy Wolverine sleeps at night."

A deep growl comes from Logan as he jumps over the table and lunges towards Bobby who quickly turns back into ice. Logan doesn't care as his claws come out for the third time in the past 10 minutes and backs Bobby against a wall.

"_I_ never forced Marie to do anything she didn't want to, every decision she made from the moment I asked her to leave here was hers. All I did was take care of her and be there for her. That is more than you ever did!"

"Logan, calm down. He isn't worth it." Marie told him, placing a hand on his shoulder, in hopes to be able to pull him back. But she knew if it came down to him really wanting to hurt Bobby, she wouldn't be able to physically stop him.

"I see we have our differences. Does anyone feel the place of Marie or Logan or James needs to be voted on?" Emma asks, hoping to prevent bloodshed.

"If Marie or the baby goes, so do I." Logan says, backing away from the younger mutant.

"Very well." Emma says.

"We have fought beside them before. I trust either with my life." Piotr says, unsure of why Bobby would be stupid enough to let his personal issues interfere with the future of the X-Men. Everyone but Bobby seemed to agree.

"Fine. But don't expect me to be all buddy-buddy with them." Bobby finally gives in.

"So it is settled then. I will inform Hank and Iliana for our decision. We will meet in the danger room at 8 p.m. tonight to begin reorganization. Marie, please bring James." Emma states as she ends the meeting.

"Bring a 6 week old to the danger room?" Marie questioned.

"It is more for planning. There will be no simulations tonight and I doubt there will be any training. It will just be a better area to reassess." Emma says. _No harm will come to your child._ Emma reassures her yet again in her mind as they all exit.

"What do you think of her?" Marie asks Logan once they close the door to their room.

"She seems sincere, but nervous."

"Kinda like me when we first met?"

"No, you had a lot more attitude." He smiles at her.

"I like her. She seems nice. And I think Hank has a thing for her."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because he looks at her the way you look at me."

"Then she must be some amazing lady. But she's not you darlin'." He says and kisses her.

"Now let's get some sleep. I'm tired and just the idea of the danger room is fatiguing me even more." She tells him as she places sleeping James in his bed.

He kisses her, begging her for more time with her in consciousness.

"You have one hour Mr. Howlett."

"You're won't regret it Mrs. Howlett."

"Iliana, the rest of the members have welcomed you. I would like for you and Hank to meet us in the danger room at 8 p.m." Emma says.

"Thank you. I am looking forward to it."

"We are glad to have you. I feel this is going to be an interesting gathering."

"What will make it so interesting?" Hank asks Emma.

"Be glad you left when you did. Other than the edition of Iliana and James, Bobby and Logan got into it." Iliana looked confused, so Hank decided to explain.

"Logan and Rogue, she goes by Marie now, arrived here together. He ended up saving her life shortly thereafter with the help of her mutation; he put his own life on the line to save her. Marie had liked Logan and they had been close friends despite their age difference. When Logan left, Marie started dating Bobby. When the cure was offered, Marie took the cure because she hated her mutation, it did not permit her to have physical skin to skin contact with others without causing harm, possibly even death, to the other person. Eventually Bobby broke up with Marie and Logan did what Logan does and left, but this time with her. Logan has always been fiercely protective of Marie, he promised her he would look after her, and these feelings seemed to have become stronger since Logan and Marie had a child and are essentially married."

"What do you mean essentially?" Emma asks.

"I did some research last night. They are not legally married here or in Canada. This doesn't surprise me though. Logan felt like the world was after him and Marie was never all that concerned about things like legal matters. She has his love, his ring, and his son; this is what matters to her." Hank said with a smile on his face. He was truly happy for them.

"They do seem to be in love."

"I've only seen him look at one other woman that way." Emma tells the couple before her, seemingly off in a daze.

"Who?" Hank is truly confused.

The memories of nearly 20 years ago come flooding into her mind. She remembered the way the man looked at the beautiful brunette before he gave them all their freedom. He looked so in awe and in love. His feelings were just as true now as they were then. "My sister." Emma says through tear filled eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Marvel, the X-Men, or any of their characters.

**Author's Note:** I would like to thank my reviewers for doing what they do. It is amazing how reviews can make a bad day good. I would like to thank Mrs Max McDowell for inspiring me to write about "Drake". Enjoy!

"I can't believe she is back. I thought for sure she would have stayed gone." Drake says to Kitty. "She doesn't belong here."

"You've certainly made that obvious. What did she ever do to you to make you feel this way?" Kitty stares at him. She hates that their peaceful rest has once again been broken by him mentioning her.

"She just. I knew she still cared for Logan. She probably was pregnant before she even left here." Jealousy and anger are evident in his voice. He could believe it of Logan considering the way he had been with Jean and she was engaged to Scott.

"You seriously think she cheated on you? Rogue wasn't like that. Yeah, she may have liked Logan, loved him now, but she isn't going to do something like that to someone she cared about. And she did care about you, not many girls would give up as much as she did for a boy." She was getting frustrated. She still cared about Marie, in her own way, and hated having her name defamed in such a way. Maybe it was her upbringing, but she saw no need in making such accusations with no real proof. Maybe she moved on too fast, but that didn't make her a bad person.

"Don't even act like she gave up something for me, _she_ wanted to be rid of her mutation, it was her choice." Drake said as he sat up on the bed. The motion and the words nearly scared Kitty off of the bed.

"And she might have reconsidered if you had made it clear you were okay. You pushed the issue and you know it. What others do weigh in on our decisions." Kitty Pryde cared about Bobby as a friend, but did not like what had happened between him and Rogue. Kitty liked Rogue and she had gotten close to Marie before she left. She thought nearly a year would be enough for him to put aside his anger. He had broken up with her after all.

"But it was her decision." He kept thinking back on the few weeks before Marie left. She had taken the cure and he had hoped it meant they could get closer, but part of his want of her left when she took the cure. Maybe it was the whole 'wanting what you can't have' which had sparked his interest in the first place. When she denied him love with no barriers, something broke inside of him. How could she deny him this when he stood beside her, unable to touch her, for so long?

He made his plans. He wanted what was his. They had argued once again about the issue. It would be hard to sneak around her protector, but doing this was half the fun. He caught the Wolverine gone on one of his missions and decided it was time to put his plan into action.

His drug of choice was stored in a freezer bag in the back of his closet. All he had to do was wait until everyone was sleeping, sneak into her room and slip the strip in her mouth. If she woke up, he would just make up the excuse that he wanted to kiss her good night and she would buy it. She stayed asleep and he waited in the corner of her room for the drug to take affect. He left her covered, ironically. Only removing what was necessary.

It wasn't as wonderful as he thought. He took this as a sign that he truly didn't want her anymore. He knew he stopped caring.

A little over a week later, he ended it. His conscious had been bothering him, and he knew he no longer deserved her sweet kisses or to see her smile. He figured she would run. Maybe if she stayed gone he couldn't hurt her anymore. Either way, whatever time she stayed gone, he would have a chance to put himself back together, become a better person.

But it all got the best of him. Anger for himself, for Marie, and for the cure consumed him. Kitty provided him some comfort as their former friendship blossomed into a relationship, but even this wasn't enough to bring him back to the person he was.

He thought himself no better than St. John.

Where his old friend had betrayed a team, Bobby had betrayed himself and the woman he once claimed to love.

"Robert Drake! Would you please snap out of it?" Kitty Pryde yelled at him for the fourth time. They had been talking moments ago until he zoned out and quit responding.

"Sorry, I was thinking."

"Well, you had better get your head together. We are meeting in the danger room in a few hours."

"I'll see you there." Bobby said, still partially in thought. He heard the door close as Kitty walked out of his room. He was still lying on the bed and thinking about how much had changed in the past 10 months. He thought of how his life had been before Logan, Marie, and their blue eyed baby… or is all as it appears to be?

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Kitty Pryde had become truly worried about her boyfriend. They had become closer over the past few months, but he seemed so much different than the Bobby she first met. He was quiet and goal driven when they were on missions. His powers had grown some but it could not keep up with the rage which seemed to consume him. He had changed since Marie left. She didn't know the full story, only heard Bobby say it wouldn't have worked out. She thought things had gotten a bit better, or at least he had been able to reign in his anger. Then Emma called them back from a mission in Africa, which was near finished anyways, for a meeting. The moment they sat down in Emma's office, across from Logan, Marie, and the baby, she felt all the process Robert Drake had made drain out of him in less than a minute. There was more to the story and she wanted to find out so she could help bring back the old Bobby that Drake had left in his wake.

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"Logan, I'm going to go grab a bite to eat." Marie said as she exited the room. James was like clock work, and because she knew his schedule, she knew she would be leaving Logan with a dirty diaper.

"HEY!" Logan called out as she made her way down the hall. He was a good dad and would actually change a diaper, even though it wasn't on his list of top 100 favorite things to do. She was tempted to go back and peak through a crack in the door so she could watch the big bad Wolverine change his son's dirty diaper, but she knew she may end up getting stuck changing the diaper herself.

As she made her way down the stairs and down the near deserted hall leading towards the kitchen, it was four o'clock and most of the students had made there way outside on this beautiful day, she ran into the one person she did not want to run into.

Robert Drake.

He smiled at her, and it made shivers run down her spine. He ran his finger down her arm as she made to move away from him.

"So Rogue, you've been gone, what 10 months now…." Marie just shook her head in agreement, praying silently about things. "And that kid of yours is what, six, seven weeks old." She shook her head in agreement, praying he hadn't put two and two together. She tried to formulate some explanation if he pushed the issue further.

"He has awefly blue eyes… almost an icy blue."

"Logan's eyes are blue."

"So are mine…isn't it possible that he is mine?" He smiled that sneaky smile again. It was the same one he got in classes when he got the answer to a complicated problem right.

"I don't see how he could be. We were always safe, and we hadn't done anything in the last month before I left." She said reigning in the anger she had for what he had done to her, even if her beautiful baby had resulted from it. She knew she had him. He wasn't stupid enough to confess such a thing as rape.

"True." Bobby knew something was up. She had the same dazed look in her eyes he had seen her have after she drained Logan the first time; like she knew what had went on, but was trying to hide something. "Anyways, congratulations mommy." He said as he walked away and back to his room.

Suddenly Marie wasn't feeling hungry anymore.

"Well, you're back fast. Did you inhale your food?" Logan asks as he is finishing up the diaper change.

"I didn't eat." Marie says as she closes the door.

"What do you mean you didn't eat?" He asks as he turns around, the answer becoming clear before he has finished doing so. She is pale and looks sick. He quickly returns James to his bed and runs to Marie, who is sliding down the wall. He leans down to talk to her face to face. "What happened?"

"Bobby, he, he…" She mumbles in between gasps of air as her tears start to fall.

"What did he do?" Logan asks, his blood beginning to boil. If he has hurt her, and apparently he has, adamantium claws ripping out his cold heart may be the last sight Robert Drake sees.

"He thinks James is his." She is finally able to mutter.

"What did you tell him?"

"That it wasn't possible since we hadn't done anything for a month before I left. I didn't think he would confess to what he did just to prove his point."

"Alright, he is going to keep his mouth shut for now. If he thinks you don't suspect anything then he'll believe you and I were together, making you think James was mine." Logan says as he picks her up to sit on their bed. "Marie, I'm going to protect you and _our_ baby. I don't remember my father or my biological family, but I do know this, family is more about who is there for you than who you are biologically related to."

"I know, but it just scares me."

"I know it does. But trust me, I'm not going to let him take James away from you or hurt either of you. Now you rest while I get us something to eat." He kisses her gently on the lips and leaves for the kitchen. Drake is nowhere to be found in the halls, but he can still smell the faint scent of Marie, ice, and fear as he rounds the last corner towards the kitchen. He is determined to never have this mix of scents again. He didn't know how much longer he could contain his anger for the boy. The old Logan wouldn't have cared and the Wolverine would have killed him in an instant. But Marie had changed Logan, calmed him down and she and James gave him a reason to stick around. As for the Wolverine, he had his mate in his bed, and the closest thing he had to a child to protect. Unless Drake made a move to harm them, he would stay calm and not hurt him. As Marie had once told him, he wasn't worth it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer**: I don't own X-Men or their characters, they belong to Marvel.

**Author's Note:** I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I also want to apologize for any confusion some of my chapters brought with transitions. I didn't notice until a day or two ago that the spaces I had used to create transitions hadn't really transferred from my computer to document manager on fanfiction all too well. If anyone needs anything clarified, just tell me. I will be happy to do so. And thank you for reading and reviewing!

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It was 8 p.m. and the group had assembled in the control area of the danger room. Marie was a bit hesitant about James being there, but she was pretty sure nothing would happen to him with Logan there, even with Drake being there.

"Welcome everyone." Ororo greeted. Ever since Xavier, Scott, and Jean had died, she had taken over the role of leader of the X-Men. "Today's objectives are rather limited. We need to talk about our positions within the school, take care of a few organizational issues within the team, as well as discussing what roles Iliana, Marie, and James shall play."

"Hank, Piotr, and I shall continue teaching during the fall. Emma shall remain as the head of the school. It is no secret we are in desperate need of teachers. Kathryn and Robert have plans of attending the nearby university. Jubilation will be taking some college level courses in addition to finishing up her classes here in order to receive her high school diploma. Kurt shall be finishing up his classes this summer and student teaching with us in the fall. Logan, I would like to ask you to assume teaching some of the extra training. While you do not have a teaching certificate and therefore cannot teach the actual classes, you will be training with the students after their school day is finished. You will also be training with the current X-men."

"Can do chief." Logan replied.

"Thank you. Marie, you have the option of taking college classes if you wish."

"If I do, I would like to take correspondence or online courses in order to be able to be here to take care of James."

"Very well. Emma, will you two meet tomorrow to discuss this?"

"I would love to." Emma replied.

"Iliana, I would like to ask you to help in both a medical and teaching capacity. Is there any subject area which you have an interest in?"

"Well, I love science as well as English." Iliana told them. English was really her third love, second on the days she hated nursing.

"Would you mind teaching a math class as well?"

"That would be fine."

"Good. So Hank will be teaching science and some math. Piotr will take care of the liberal arts, I will continue with history and geography classes, and Iliana will handle our English and a math class. In a few years I see our predicament being a little bit better with the addition of a at least three or four teachers. Moving on to the next subject at hand." Ororo stated. Despite the additions they had made to the teaching staff today, she still felt overwhelmed.

"Iliana, I know you are part of the team, but I feel it would be best if you received some individual training." Iliana just nodded her head. She wasn't much for attention, which is probably why she was 27, had multiple degrees, but had not made her mutation known to very many.

"I will take over her training with her powers specifically." Emma was quick to answer. Telekinetics could be difficult to train because so much of it was left up to them. Emma would be more able to see where the internal problem lies.

"And I will set up some individual training sessions with other members of the team. You all need to know one another's strengths and weaknesses to better work as a team." 'Ro stated. "Now for Marie and James. Marie, the option to be on the fields with us fighting is left up to you. I have some concerns about it, but I also know you are a strong fighter even without your powers. There are other things you can do as a member of the team." Marie just nodded. She wanted to be able to be there as part of the team, but she understood. If it was just her life, she would be okay, but she had her son to think about and without any extra power at all, she was vulnerable, which put the entire team at risk, especially with her changing relationship with Logan. She had already had to have been saved once during a clash, and at least that time she wasn't completely helpless.

"What else could I do?" Marie asked. Logan looked at her slightly shocked. He didn't want her to fight, but it surprised him when she wanted to know other options.

"When the team is on missions, the mansion is basically left leader-less. You could stay here…"

"…and babysit?" Marie asked. The idea of being left with a bunch of teeny boppers scared her. "I think I'd rather fight. Actually, I think I would be safer fighting."

"How about helping with communication and planning?"

"Done." Marie was quick to take any option which didn't involve being the only adult in a mansion full of mutants. But she wanted to be able to fight, eventually.

"What about James?" Logan asks.

"Well, I assume he will go through roughly the same training as the other students will." 'Ro answers him.

"I know that, what I mean, is what about when James' main mutation is controllable, could he share some of our powers with Marie?"

"Well, I would say he could." Ororo thought it might be possible, but she didn't want to give them false hope.

"He will be able to." Emma answered.

"Then she can fight if she wants to?" Logan asked.

"She could fight now if she wanted to, but I would feel much better about it if she did have some power to help even the odds." Ororo states. She hated the idea of leaving Marie out, and while she understood her reasons for taking the cure, she still feared for her safety. After all, it generally wasn't mere humans they went up against.

Marie wasn't sure what to make of it all. The idea had crossed her mind, but she had not versed it to Logan or anyone else. She knew the mutation he would most likely want her to have, his healing abilities. It would take care of her like no other power could and it may be an answer to their problem of separation by her dying of old age and him still living on, almost unchanging.

Drake was upset by this idea. He wasn't going to let her use _his_ child in such a way. She made her choice and just because she gave birth to some child with such a gift did not give her the right to reclaim a power which came with being a mutant. Logan could sense the anger Drake directed towards Marie and the fear which was slowly seeping into her because of how the boy was staring at her. She clutched James closer to her. Logan had brought the convertible car seat to sit James in, but he knew now that she wasn't going to sit the baby down when Drake was in the same room. He really hoped the boy stayed away because James would eventually have to learn how to crawl and walk. Drake had started this war and Logan was about to teach him a lesson.

"Alright, onto some reorganization. Since we have a new member of the team, I would like for her to see a demonstration of what we each can do."

"I'll go." Drake said. He was such a show off at times. One day someone slipped and told him he was an Omega class mutant and his ego wasn't able to be kept in check anymore.

"So will I." Logan said. He was mentally laughing at how perfect everything fell into place. He could take the boy down and it still be deemed as appropriate. Drake swallowed. Omega class or not, he knew he would be sore in the morning. The Wolverine was enough to face even when he was in a good mood against an opponent he didn't have a personal agenda against. Staring down his mate and the kid he thought was his was definitely at the top of his list of reasons to cut a person to shreds and spit on the pieces.

"Not exactly what I had in mind, but it may save time going two at a time." Ororo said. She feared for the safety of both men and for the danger room. The budget could only handle so many repairs. Drake made his way down to the changing area of the danger room, his uniform ready for him. "Logan, your uniform is still down there as well."

"I'll change in a minute." He wanted to avoid slicing Drake up in the changing area. While it would satisfy his agenda but then it wouldn't accomplish the goal of demonstrating what they can do to Iliana, and Storm would probably attempt to kill him. He wanted to talk to Marie as well. He pulled her and the baby over to the side, away from where the others could hear them.

"Logan, you don't need to fight him."

"Yes I do. I need to remind him of who he is messing with. It may make him leave you alone for at least a little while. If I don't fight him now, I may end up killing him later." He confessed to her. Before Marie he would just fight and not worry about explaining himself to anyone. Ever since he promised to take care of her the first time, he realized his actions did affect others and he actually cared.

"Just, come back in one piece okay." Marie told him. "And try to keep it down. There is no need in you waking up James and giving him nightmares."

"Deal." He said as he kissed James on the forehead and then Marie on the lips, inhaling their scents before he turned to go change. Their sent would remind him of why he was fighting and keep him in check.

His uniform was still where he left it. It had gathered some dust, but still looked new; probably because this one had only been warn a few times and never in an actual battle. He quickly changed, adjusting to the feel of the material on his skin and headed to the training area of the danger room, where Iceman awaited.

"Here, Wolvie, Wolvie, Wolvie." Drake chanted as The Wolverine entered the barren area. This fight would be pure hand to hand and power. No tricks or flair, just them. Logan took his time approaching his opponent, awaiting him to make the first move. Drake become easily frustrated and took a swing at The Wolverine. When his hand was caught by the adamantium laced hand, he quickly turned it into ice. He hoped to freeze The Wolverine's hand and cause him pain. It didn't work like he had planned. Today Logan didn't care how much pain he was in.

Iceman withdrew his hand and turned the rest of his body into ice. This action caused the infamous claws to appear and the fight was on. Drake was quick to throw hard punches, to quick at times. Then majority of them were dodged, but a few landed on Logan. Logan was letting the boy have his fun, studying his weaknesses. It's better to defeat an enemy who thinks he stands a chance.

"You know, that little wife of yours used to be entertaining. Tell me, does she still scream MY name?" Drake exchanged his insult. Apparently he failed mutant common sense 101, because insulting the Wolverine or what was his was at the top of the list of things to never do. The Wolverine let a growl escape him before launching a clawless punch at the boy.

"I'm going to teach you to never to speak about her like that again." They went blow for blow. Drake's punches were sloppy compared to Logan's, each skilled and expertly placed in the weak points he remembered. Ice is most fragile at its thinnest points. Iceman quickly realized his plan and started to pull moisture from the air, increasing the mass in his weakest area.

The fight raged on for thirty minutes with neither mutant gaining much ground. The Wolverine backed Iceman towards a wall. His plan was fixed. He inhaled the sweet scent of his wife and child and remembered all the harm Drake had caused Marie. He remembered holding her in his arms as nightmares surfaced. Somehow she had regained memories from the night of the rape. Even though she wasn't fully conscious, unable to do anything, she could feel him on top of her and the silent tears which she wanted to cry. Nightmares of Drake running away with James, and never seeing her baby again kept her awake on more than one night. All of this gave him the strength to end this fight.

The Wolverine pushed Iceman against the wall and had him in check. He could smell the fear underneath the snow.

"And it's my name she screams in pleasure. Your name only brings her pain anymore." He said and then sliced his form in two. Pieces of ice went everywhere as Iceman hit the ground. Logan retracted his claws and walked out of the training area. He would let Iceman stitch himself back together. While the end to the battle wasn't a permanent solution, it felt good. Logan quickly undressed and ran back to Marie and James. He was still sleeping.

"He ain't gonna leave us alone, ya know." Marie told Logan, her voice shaky.

"Maybe not, but it was a reminder to him of what he was up against." Logan told her. Maybe he had only added fuel to the fire, but he was thinking "once bitten, twice shy". Drake would realize his Omega level powers weren't much match for an overly defensive Wolverine.

Ororo went on with the demonstrations when Iceman had put himself back into one piece and left the area. He came back to the planning area, but stayed away from Marie, not even daring to look at her, Logan, or the baby. Iliana was amazed at the variety of abilities which were assembled on the team. Luckily the other fights were more for show and were not heated at all. When everything was over nearly four hours later, they all went back to their rooms.

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Marie was still fearful. Maybe the fight would bring them temporary peace, but she knew Drake wouldn't give up. He had changed so much from when they first met. He used to be kind and gentle; it was almost like he was a different person.

"Logan, I think something is wrong with him."

"Well, I could have told you that, darlin'"

"No, I mean like psychologically. The guy I met when I first came there would have never…"

"Maybe you just didn't know him well enough to know what he was capable of."

"People can change. We're living proof of that."

"Okay, maybe."

"I think we should go see Hank and Ororo about it. Maybe they have noticed other things. Plus I have wanted to talk to them about something." Marie told Logan as she rubbed his sore shoulders.

"After we get some sleep." Logan said as he laid down. Marie was tired as well, and still worried. Tonight she wasn't going to let James for from them. She wrapped him up and set him next to her in bed as she snuggled into Logan's arms. They were all asleep within a few minutes. Logan's arms was about the only place Marie felt truly safe.

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"Have they always been like that?" Iliana asked Hank. He had came to her room to make sure she was settled in. He couldn't help but admit to himself he had feelings for the lovely woman before him.

"Who, Logan and Robert?" Iliana nodded yes. "Well, Logan has always been pretty protective, especially of Marie. He is also a fighter by nature. As far as Robert, he used to be calmer. I don't know what happened to him, but he has went from a sweet teenager to someone I have trouble trusting around the younger mutants. I really don't know what happened. Maybe battling the person who used to be one of his closest friends had some negative affect on him."

Iliana had started to have doubts about what she was getting herself into. Would they be like that to everyone?

"Their anger seems to be kept between the three of them. I don't see them hurting anyone else if that is what you are wondering."

"Sort of. I'm also concerned about them."

"So am I. They might figure something out, but I fear there will always be bad feelings. I do think they could stay focused enough on a mission to not endanger it." Hank said. He was glad to have Logan and Marie back, but wondered where all of this drama would lead. "Well, it is late. I will let you get some rest and see you in the morning. I will try to give you a better tour of the place. Maybe we could go into town and explore it as well, possibly get a bit to eat. That is, if you don't mind being seen with fury me."

"Didn't you know, blue is my favorite color." She told him as he left her room, closing the door behind him. They were both smiling. Yes, he did have feelings for this woman. Little did he know that she felt the same way.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** Because I'm not the owners of Marvel, I don't own the X-men.

**Author's Note:** Enjoy and thank you for reading and reviewing.

Marie had informed Logan of what she wanted to talk to, well, ask of, Ororo and Hank. He had agreed. It was around 10 a.m. when they went looking for their friends and they found Hank showing Iliana around the medical lab.

"Hank, Marie and I wanted to talk to you." Logan tells Hank.

"Sounds fine." Hank replies.

"If you want to finish your tour, that's fine. We wanted to talk to you and Ororo at the same time." Marie adds.

"Shall I meet you in half an hour then?" Hank asks.

"Alright. If you don't care, meet in our room." Logan says. They turn to walk out of the med lab and find wherever it was Ororo hides these days. It didn't take them long to find her in the garden.

"'Ro, is it okay if Logan and I talk to you?" Marie asks.

"I don't see a problem with it." Ororo replies.

"Then can you meet in our room in about 20 minutes? Hank is supposed to meet us there." Marie adds. Logan is silent, trying to rock James back to sleep.

"I shall see you then." Ororo replies. Marie and Logan walk back into the mansion and back to their room.

"I think we are making the best decision." Logan tells Marie.

"We have always been closer to 'em than most of the others. I love Jubilee ta death, but I don't think she'd be ready for somethin' like this."

"Like we were any more the ready."

"You have a point, but this is different." Logan just nods as he places James in his basinet. The kid was worse than he was at times about not sleeping. Maybe it was the whole healing factor thing, so he didn't need as much. Marie lay down on the bed, debating if a ten minute nap was worth it. She hadn't slept too well the night before. Even though Logan and James were safe, she had more trouble falling asleep than usual. The late hour which they arrived back in their room didn't help much. Nor did James deciding he wanted to eat at 5 a.m.

A knock on the door pulled Marie out of her thoughts. Logan stood to open the door and Marie picked James up.

"Come on in." Logan told Hank and Ororo.

"Now, what was it that you needed to talk to us about?" Ororo asks.

"It's about James." Marie told them. Logan had closed the door and made his way back to Marie, standing behind her and placing his hands on her shoulders.

"You know neither of us have much family, at least not that we have anything to do with in Marie's case. This place and the people have become the closest thing either of us has to it." Logan began.

"We both, well all of us, live rough lives. I've been nearly killed at least twice, and I think Logan stopped counting the number of times he should have died."

"It wasn't that big of a deal if something happened to us before. Yeah, our friends would mourn and such, but we were only responsible for ourselves." Logan continued.

"Now we have James and all of that has changed. We need to know that if something happened to us, he would be taken care of. You two have been so kind to us and we trust you with our lives. We wanted to know if you would do us the honor and become James' God-parents." Marie finished. God-parents were a common thing where she was from. Generally they were married couples, probably an aunt and uncle or two friends your parents grew up with. She didn't know if it was a very common thing around here, or if they had really even heard of such a thing.

"Basically, if something happens to us, you will be there to take care of him." Logan added. It was a concept he had maybe heard mention of, but didn't pay much attention to.

"And you'd be a big part of his life as he grows up." Marie told them. "I know it can be a big responsibility, and I understand if you don't want…" Marie was cut off by Ororo.

"I cannot speak for Mr. McCoy, but I am willing to accept. The welfare of this child means a lot to me and I am honored by you asking me to take on such a role in his life." Ororo says as she reaches out for the child. Marie gives James to her to hold.

"I am also honored and willing to help in any way I can." Hank adds. Marie breaths in and takes a step back as Hank approaches the child.

"We don't have to." Logan tells Marie in a whisper, still holding on to her shoulders.

"But they need to know." Marie tells Logan.

"We have something else we need to tell you." Marie begins. She is lucky to have gotten this out. Logan knows it is going to be hard for her to tell them what happened. She can still barely form the words to him.

"Before we left, something happened. Drake violated her." The words were hard for him to.

"We had always been safe before and it had been a while since…." Marie was still uncomfortable. These people used to be her teachers.

"I had realized she was pregnant and told her when we reached Canada. I didn't fully realize it until after we had left or we probably wouldn't have left." Ororo looks in shock, Hank is too, but doesn't seem as surprised. "After I found out it hadn't been consensual, we decided to stay in Canada. We both found jobs and somewhere in the mix we got closer. I had promised to take care of both of them and everyone just assumed the baby was mine. After a little while, he actually felt like it."

"He has been an amazing dad so far. I didn't think Bobby deserved to be around James. He has changed so much since I first met him. I still don't want him to know but I felt you two should know since we are asking so much of you." Marie continued.

"I understand. I too have become concerned about Bobby. But I did not realize it had gone this far. Why didn't you tell anyone?" Hank asks.

"I didn't know until after I found out I was pregnant. It took some time, but I even started to have nightmares about it. I know it may seem unbelievable, but Bobby was the only person I had been with until Logan. It all just made sense; at least what happened did, not why." Marie says in a shaky voice.

"Your secret is safe with us." Ororo tells them. "I don't blame you for not wanting Robert to know."

"So is this what all the anger has been about?" Hank asks Logan.

"Yes. And he thinks the kid is his, but I don't think he is going to admit to ra- what he did to prove it." Logan adds.

"I have been so concerned about him. Ever since he fought St. John it is like he has been going down a slippery slope. Marie is right; he isn't the person he used to be." Hank says as he stairs out the window in their room. "This leaves one puzzle unsolved though."

"What's that?" Marie asks. She has just laid everything on the table, surely nothing was left.

"How James ended up with the healing mutation. I know mutations aren't always familial, but I find it odd how he gets a mutation we feel is from his father and it is not so. The odds are just against things like this."

"What if James absorbed Logan's mutation?" Ororo asks.

"It would seem plausible. The infant would see what was good for him based on instinct and copy Logan's healing abilities. But if he had it during the pregnancy, he must have had to have used Marie as an intermediary."

"Then could he transfer it to Marie now?" Logan asks. The idea of Marie being able to heal makes him so hopeful.

"He may have already." Hank states. "Generally what is in the best interest for the baby is what is in the best interest of the mother. While using her as the intermediary he also left her some healing abilities." Hank walks back towards Marie and takes her hand in his. He takes out a pocket knife and asks "May I?" Marie just nods as Hank slices a spot in her palm. Logan becomes slightly outraged, but is calmed down when he sees the wound begin to heal. It is much slower than how long it takes him to heal, it takes nearly a minute to heal what would have taken him a few seconds, but it does heal and leaves no scar.

"Amazing isn't it?" Hank adds. Marie is in shock. The feeling of healing so fast isn't completely uncommon to her, but it was something given to her, not something she took this time. How hadn't she realized this before? She really hadn't had many physical problems, the pregnancy was healthy, and she recovered quickly from the delivery, but she accredited all of this to taking care of herself and luck. To think her son had been taking care of her as much as she had been taking care of him.

Logan breathed a sigh of relief. Marie was safe, at least for now. He hoped she wouldn't have a need where faster healing was needed. He also wondered if this was for good or if it could be gone tomorrow. "How long will it last?"

"I can't say for sure. But if I had to guess I would say it is a permanent thing unless James decides to take it from her by reabsorbing it. But I doubt he will do this because it is still in his best interest for you to be healthy. Plus, it isn't exactly harming anyone." Hank says.

"He is an amazing child." Ororo tells them, handing the baby back to Marie.

"I've known that all along." Marie tells her.

"Well, if you all will excuse me, I have a tour to finish." Hank tells them as he steps out of the room. He needs time to absorb what had been told to him and he feels the couple needs the same.

"Is there anything you three need?" Ororo asks them.

"I think we're okay for now. We just need a little bit of time to absorb the wonderful news." Marie tells her.

"I think we will go into town shortly in order to get a few things." Logan tells her.

"Very well, your car is in the garage. Are you taking James with you?"

"Yeah. Today I would feel better if he was with me, especially after last night." Marie tells her. Ororo looks slightly disappointed. "Don't worry, you'll get to spend plenty of time with him."

"I'm glad to hear that. Well, have a good day." Ororo tells them as she leaves. The news is a lot to take in for her as well. She is proud of Logan for stepping up, but wonders what the future may bring considering everything which has went on. She was concerned for Bobby and agrees he shouldn't be truly involved in the child's life. She had even had her doubts about his ability to focus and be safe during missions, but he somehow found focus then. Knowing that Bobby suspected James was his son made matters worse. It may cause him to try something. While she felt James should eventually know about his origins, including his father, she feared for his safety. Bobby needed help, she just knew something was wrong, and until then it may take all four of them to protect the child.

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"Marie, are you ready to go?"

"Yes, I'm already starting to feel cramped in this mansion."

"Do you want to move out? I could find a house nearby and…"

"Not yet. I feel we are safer here for now. I just need to get out for a little while."

"Well, then lets go." Logan says as he takes her hand and leads her out of their room, to the garage and outside the gates of the mansion. They both needed fresh air and a change of scenery. James seemed to agree because he seemed to relax as soon as they exited the gates.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I don't own X-Men. And I'm not making money off of this.

**Author's Note: ** Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. The one-shot bunny came knocking on my door and between that, class, church, and everything around the house I didn't have chance to write, edit, and post like I had been. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! Enjoy!

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"So does this mean you're going to let me fight?" Marie asked Logan while they were browsing around in the mall.

Logan grumbled mentally. He had never really liked the idea of her fighting, powers or not. Yeah, maybe she could heal on her own now, but it killed him to see her hurting, even for a second. He had almost vowed to never let her get pregnant again while she was in labor, refusing anything to help with the pain, until he saw James. Then the pain it had caused him melted away at the same time hers did.

"It's not my call." Logan told her. She still had the right to a free will. He wouldn't stop her if she wanted.

"In the end it isn't, but you're opinion still matters." Marie told him.

"I know you are capable. You are a good fighter, after all, Magneto and I are still stuck in your head somewhere. But some wounds…" his words broke off, not wanting to verbalize his fear of her dying.

"I know the risks. I'm not going to go out there to get myself killed. I just want to know that you are okay with me being out there with you. When James is old enough to fight, I don't plan on sitting at home knitting socks." Marie told him. Logan knew that wasn't her at all. Rogue was still part of her and seeing the danger room and the uniforms only added fuel to the dim fire of her urge for adventure and action. This was part of her before they even met. How else would the girl from Mississippi ended up in a filthy bar so far north.

Logan turned to face her, stopping her in her tracks. "Do you want this."

"Yes."

"Then fine. But I'm going to work with you more on your fighting. If I think it's too dangerous, I'm going to tell you and you better at least listen. We both have more to lose than just ourselves now." He told her. She kissed him, trying to calm him down. He smiled back at her, admitting defeat in that small action.

"I'm finished shopping. Are you ready to go back to the mansion." She asked him.

"We have one more stop to make." He told her as he led her to the car. If he was going to teach her to fight, she was going to learn to fight with more than bear hands. Xavier was never all that big on actual weapons. He would need to find something for her. He drove to a near by blade shop.

"What's this all about? Last time I checked, you still have your claws." Marie told him, looking at him questionably.

"But you don't." He told her as he got out of the vehicle, waiting for her to follow. The bell over the door rang as they walked in, alerting the owner to someone being in the shop.

"What can I do for you sir?" The old man asked.

"I'm looking for something for my wife." Marie sulked behind Logan, caring James in his car seat, not liking the way the man looked at her.

"A mutant needing a weapon?" The man looked at The Rogue questionably. While news of who she was and what she could do was wide-spread, the fact that she no longer had her mutation was not widely known.

"How did you know I was a mutant?" Marie asked him. The man just pointed to his own hair, mirroring where her streaks were.

"It's not all that common." The man told her. "I don't really care, just odd."

"Well, if you know about her then you know it doesn't do her too much good without actually touching someone. I want to be able to give her some space if she needs it." Logan told the man. The man turned towards a back storage room of the shop.

"Follow me." He told them and they followed. "Let's see here….I have a wide variety, could you narrow down what you were looking for?"

"Show me what you got." The man went to lay out a weaponry assortment on a before empty table in the back. The blades came in all shapes and sizes, from different origins. A few things caught Logan's eye. He picked up a set of daggers. The blades were the length of his claws, the metal was cold and comforting. He knew he could teach her to use them well. And the idea of her fighting with them caused the Wolverine to smile.

"We'll take these."

"And these." Marie said, eying a set of throwing knives. Hand to hand was nice, but so was catching your enemy from a distance. Logan simply smiled at her. He remembered how feisty she could be. The man boxed up their purchases and headed to the front with them. When the man gave them the total, Logan laid down the cash and they left.

"So when do we start?" Marie asked him.

"As soon as you find a babysitter." Logan told her.

"Well, I have to meet with Emma soon. I'll ask 'Ro if she will watch him for a little bit." Marie told him.

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Ororo jumped at the chance to have James to herself for an hour or so. Marie felt safe leaving her child in her care. Now they were in the bare danger room; just her in a pair of jeans and fitted long sleeve t-shirt, him in his jeans and wife beater. He handed her the daggers.

"I want you to get a feel for them." He told her. She handled them like an expert. The way she handled them reminded him of the way he would fight with his claws, but with a bit of her grace.

She loved the way they felt. The Logan she had long kept locked inside her mind was excited and gave her tips on using them. The weapons felt in her hands as if they belonged, as if they were made for her. The cold, now warming metal felt so familiar. She felt graceful and beautiful with her new weapons, it was something she had never felt with her mutation. She felt confident with them. She knew with practice she would be able to hold her own.

"I don't think a weapon ever looked sexier." Logan told her.

"I think I would agree." She told him, smiling back at him.

"Don't get too full of yourself or anything."

"I'm not. They just feel right. It's hard to explain. The Logan in my head likes them as well."

"Is he still bothering you? I thought he got locked up a long time ago."

"He likes to put in a word or two every now and then." She said, letting the blades fall to her sides.

"Yeah, we can be stubborn like that." Logan told her. He almost hated the idea that he was still in her head. He knew the kind of person he was before he met her and he wasn't too fond of Marie being subject to it. "Moving on." Logan said as he brought his claws out. "I want you to softly block my shot, those blades won't withstand a heavy blow from adamantium." She did as she was told and it surprised him yet again at how skilled she was at blocking. Yes, he had taught her self defense, but working with a weapon was different. Her mental Logan must be working overtime.

They continued for an hour, just slowly adjusting. Logan felt better about the idea of her fighting, but he wasn't ready to let her go yet.

"Darlin' that's enough for today. Maybe tomorrow."

"I needed to talk to you anyways." She told him as she went to put her weapons away. She wasn't bringing them into a room with a baby, not yet.

"What about?"

How was she to begin this conversation? To her, what they had was enough, but apparently Emma thought maybe things would be technically easier if they had something else.

"I was talking to Emma and filling out the paperwork for an online degree program." Logan didn't see what was so serious about this. She was hesitating so much, it had to be serious. "And one of the questions they ask is about marital status."

"And…"

"Logan, we aren't legally married." It was something he hadn't really thought about. Nearly twenty years spent running never really gave him a reason to think about the legality of things. He just did and that was the end of it. "I know it may not mean much to you, but I can't bring myself to mark single on them."

"I don't want you to."

"Well unless I have proof, and I don't think they'll accept a picture of a ring or the confession of your undying love as proof."

"Wouldn't I need something saying I actually existed first?"

"Well, I brought that up. Hank is going to try to get something done. The whole amnesia thing is for once working in your favor."

"Once it's all finished, all we have to do is sign a paper." Marie told him. As a child she had thought of what it would be like to wear a long white dress, walk down the isle to someone attempting to play the wedding march in a church, but she knew that wasn't him. It wasn't really part of her anymore. But the dream of marriage had also died about the time she realized she could kill someone by touching them.

"No ceremony, no nothing? Don't you want any of that?" Logan asked her. He would give her the world if she asked for it.

"We don't need it." She told him.

He stopped her in her tracks, turned to face her, and lifted up her chin so her eyes would meet his and asked her, "But do you _want_ it?"

"I don't know. It isn't that important. I have you and James. I used to wonder what it would be like, but can you really see us having a regular wedding?"

"You'd look beautiful in white." He told her, kissing her forehead as he smiled down at her.

"Except for the fact that I'm not allowed to wear white. That's a whole purity thing."

"Then where whatever you want. You're beautiful in my eyes and you have an amazing and pure soul, well, when me and Magnet aren't trying to pollute you." He got a laugh out of her.

"If you want me to wear white I will. But I don't need a wedding. I'm not going to ask you to stand there in a tux, looking nervous like you're about to drop, and walk down an isle with people we were never that close to look on as we say some vows that have been said a million times before. We aren't that type of people."

"Then what type of people are we?"

"We're the type of people who keep away from others and run north whenever we feel like runnin'. We aren't the type for pomp and circumstance."

"Fine, it's whatever you want."

"But what do you want?"

"I want you by my side and happy." He said as he pushed a white lock out of her face.

"I'm not leaving you anytime soon."

"Not even when I look 40 and you're 80?"

"Ah suga' I don't think your memory is as good as it used to be." She said softly to him, in a sarcastic patronizing way.

"What do you mean?" He truly was puzzled.

"Our son gave us a gift. The same thing that heals you keeps you young, and now I have at least a small portion of it." Realization suddenly hit. He may not have to lose her after all.

"Woman, I don't know if I could love you more." He told her as he picked her up and spun her around.

"Give it time."

"You just did." He told her as they walked back to their room; his hand over her shoulders and her arm wrapped around his hips. "And by the way, Ororo volunteered to watch James for the rest of the night. She thought we could use the rest."

"Well, it's too bad we won't be getting any rest." She told him, letting a hint of seduction and passion surface in her voice.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the X-Men.

**Author's Note:** I had a request to put more Ororo/Hank with James into the mix. I decided to add some fluff and humor to this action packed chapter. As always, thanks for reading and reviewing!

--- --- ---

"Oh my goodness!" Ororo told Hank when she saw him. James' milk hadn't agreed with him for whatever reason and Hank was currently wearing what hadn't agreed with the baby.

"You think this is funny?" Hank asked her. Ororo just laughed. "Then here, you take care of him while I go clean up." Hank hand her James as he went to clean up. James was just giggling. Ororo seemed to understand this was more a plea for auntie O' considering the baby really didn't get sick, and certainly not to the magnitude according to the evidence on Hank. He would have to bath to get it all out of his fur.

"You missed me didn't you little one?" She said as she placed the baby on her shoulder and finished burping him. She had been occupied with other things for the past week and hadn't spent as much time with him as she wished. The routine had been that either Ororo, Hank or Iliana, or when all else failed, Jubilee, would watch the baby during the time Logan and Marie spent in the danger room. For the past week Ororo had been busy with talking to the parents of potential students for the next year, as well as sponsors for the school. Emma couldn't handle it all. As a result Hank had had been the sole babysitter for the past week, something James hadn't been used to. He seemed to like the variety. Ororo had just come downstairs for a cup of tea when she heard the commotion in the recreation room.

"It's okay. Auntie O' is here."

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The weeks went by in peaceful bliss. Hank was getting the legal paperwork ready and later that day they were going to sign their official marriage certificate. Today was one day to the year since they had taken off. In the back of her mind, Marie knew something had to go wrong. Her concentration during their morning lesson had been off because of it.

"Marie, snap out of it. You can't do that when you are in an actual fight, and you're not going to do it here." Logan told her. He was a taskmaster when it came to her training. He knew exactly what was at stake, her life. The truth was, his head wasn't much in the game right now. He kept thinking about the past and how it had become intertwined with the present.

-

_2 weeks earlier_

_"You needed to see me." Logan asked Emma, perplexed as to why he was asked to come alone._

_"Ah, yes. Please sit down. I know you have lost a lot of your memories."_

_"Yeah, and…"_

_"What was the first memory you had?"_

_"Standing around on some excuse for an island and someone saying my name. I knew it was my name because of my tags. Well, it was at least part of my name."_

_"I know James." Logan jumped out of his seat trying to figure out how she knew this. She was a telepath, but that didn't give her any right to pry in his mind._

_"I didn't pry. I knew you briefly before you lost your memories. I was on that island, so was Scott and a lot of the other students who originally attended this school. You saved us. But I knew of you before then. You knew my sister, Kayla." It wasn't memories, but feelings which flooded into him. Love, hurt, anger, betrayal. Why did that name inspire such feelings, one feeling which Marie could only inspire so deeply in him, even if it wasn't as deep? "You were in love with her once. We were used, her included, and it broke her heart. She loved you. And you loved her."_

_"So where is she? If you two knew I was still alive, why didn't she care enough to remind me of who I was? Explain that to me?" He was filled with rage. Someone had just told him about his past, someone he had known for a little while now. "And why tell me now?"_

_"She's dead. She died on that island." He vaguely remembered a lifeless body. He had some mix of unpleasant first memories. Why couldn't he have just died on that island? "And I'm telling you because I see the way you look at Marie. It's similar to the look you gave my sister the only time I saw you together. I want you to have at least a little bit of your past before you committed so deeply to your future."_

_"Listen, I'm sorry about your sister. But, she is my past. Nothing I could do could bring her back. Now I have Marie, and I have already committed myself to her." He told Emma trying to brush it off. A year ago he would have thrown himself at the chance of any clue to his past. Now he didn't really care, all his world revolved around his little family. "I'm a different man now."_

-

Present day….

But it did bother him. He hadn't told Marie. She didn't need to know she wasn't his first love in the entirety of his life. Maybe he had even loved before Kayla, but he didn't know that. He did know he had loved at least once before Marie, but Marie and their child was all that truly mattered to him, and he needed to be honest with her.

"I'm ending the sim. We need to talk." He told her, as he stepped out of the control room. Marie put her blades back in the new holsters which were attached to her thighs. He loved the way she looked with them and they made her feel somewhat powerful in a house full of people who could read minds, control weather, walk through walls, and turn into solid metal.

"You know I love you Marie." He told her when they met outside the danger room.

"And I love you. What is this all about?" She asked him, not bothering to put up her gear because they were coming right back after they finished their business.

"Emma clued me in to some of my past. Apparently I saved her and Scott once upon a time."

"That's great. It's another clue." She smiled at him but he didn't return it. He just stood up, not willing himself to face her when he continued.

"And she knew a woman I apparently loved." Marie froze. She knew he had been around the block more than a few hundred times, but actually loving someone?

"I wanted you to know. Marie, this doesn't change how I feel about you. I still love you. She is my past, I don't really even remember her…"

"What do you remember of her?" She picked up on the clue that he did remember at least something about her.

"To be honest, I remember seeing a lifeless body as I left that island. A couple weeks ago Emma informed me that was Kayla."

"I'm sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. Like I said, she was apparently part of my past."

"Logan, I understand. I'm sorry for both your loss of her and your memory of her. Love is a rare thing, and I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say I was a bit jealous, but if she made you happy once, then I am glad." She said, stroking his cheek. He kissed her hand and spoke again.

"Emma said the way I look at you reminded me of the way I had once looked at her sister. I remembered some feelings, but the love was never this strong. Marie, I'm yours and you are mine. I just wanted you to know because I couldn't keep it from you. It wouldn't be fair if you didn't know what I knew, especially something like this." Logan soothed with a hand on her arm.

"I understand. And I love you."

"I love you too Marie. Now I think we need to go sign some papers." He told her as he led her towards Emma's office.

--

When they arrived Emma, Iliana, Hank, Ororo, Jubilee, and James. Iliana and Hank had been openly dating and were hardly ever separated. Jubilee and Marie had resumed their friendship and would baby-sit James when Ororo absolutely couldn't and Marie was able to convince Logan the baby would be fine.

"So, where's this paper we need to sign?" Logan asked Emma.

"Right here." She told him.

"Are you sure you don't want a ceremony?" Iliana asked Marie.

"We've already got a kid, have lived together for a year, and considered ourselves married for over half a year, so it really isn't a big deal." Marie told her.

"If you change your mind though Iliana and I would love to plan one for you chika." Jubilee told Marie. Marie could see Jubilee's eyes light up at the chance to go shopping.

"Logan, you just need to sign here." And he did.

"And Marie, you will sign your name, maiden name, on this line." And Marie picked up the pen Logan had just laid down and signed.

"Congratulations, you are now legally married." Emma told them. Logan put an arm around Marie, who was reaching to take James from Ororo's arms when the doors were pushed open.

"Bobby, I told you a week ago, it's over!"

"I don't think so…

"Get over yourself. You're not the person you once were and I can't stand who you have become!" Bobby tried to grab Kitty but she just phased her arm through the touch and went to move towards the protection she knew she would find with the other X-Men. As he approached, Logan moved Marie behind him, his instincts to protect his mate kicking in. His claws came out and a snarl had taken its place on his lips. Hank had done the same with Iliana, despite the fact she was probably one of the more powerful mutants in the room.

Piotr had heard the commotion from down the hall. He had tried to give Kitty her space despite the way Bobby had been acting towards her since she had ended her relationship with him. He tried convincing himself that she could at least hold her own against him, but he still feared for her. When he heard the argument, he had to follow. By the time he walked into the room, the older men looked like they were poised for a fight. Kitty was hiding behind the rest of the group and he knew there had to be something more to story than what she had told him.

"Drake, leave her alone." Piotr said as he turned into his metal form.

"Oh really, you and what army is going to stop me?" Drake told him.

"It won't take an army to kick your sorry hide." Marie chimed in. Her daggers were in her hands, poised at her side. She was ready for a fight.

"Wow. If I would have known she would have been that feisty, I might have kept her around for a little while longer." Drake said, directing his comments to Logan who currently wanted to cut his head off. He was in human form, it would stick this time, but one thing was standing in his way: Marie.

"You know, you can look at me when you say somethin' about me. I ain't def." Marie told Drake.

Emma probed Bobby Drake's mind to see if escape was possible. All he seemed to be noticing was Marie and Logan to an extent. He wasn't even paying attention to the baby. _Jubilee, Iliana, Ororo, take James and get the children into a safe place. I have a feeling this may not end well._ Emma told them telepathically. Jubilee made it out first, sneaking around the back of a distracted Bobby Drake. Iliana and Ororo with baby James followed a minute later. Emma had already called all the students into one of the lower rooms. When Ororo found the gathered group she led them to the basement to a safe area which had been built in case of another attack. The three X-men would guard the entrance with the help of a few of the older students if worse came to worse. Ororo never thought she would see the day where the true danger came from within their ranks. At least St. John had bothered to defect first.

Marie was starring Bobby Drake down, almost daring him to make a move. She knew she was ready despite her distractions this morning in training. She was ready for her revenge for what he had done. Colossus had made his way over to Kitty ready to fight if need be. Logan was having a hard time not jumping in. Emma and Hank were trying to think of another solution. When a thought occurred to Hank he made his way out of the office and down to the med lab. Things had gone too far and he hated the idea of doing such a thing to anyone, much less someone who had been a combat in arms, but the options had become very limited.

Marie had noticed Hank leave, but Bobby Drake seemed to be oblivious. The rage was seeping through his ice blue eyes and she knew the stare off would end soon and the real fight would begin.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** I don't own X-Men. Marvel does.

**Rating:** I am upping the rating for safety. It isn't going to be over the top or anything, but it is slightly more blatant mature themes.

**Author's Note:** I apologize if there has been any confusion with the personalities of the characters. I am trying to keep them "in character" (with the exception of Bobby) but I am drawing from sources, not just the movie. A lot of Ororo's personality is from X-Men: Evolution (which I don't own) as well as Kurt's. With that said, I am also pulling in some other characters from the comics (as you will see in this chapter). Iliana, while her name is pretty much the same only spelled differently than Illyana Rasputin who is Piotr's sister, this was mere coincidence (I hadn't realized this until after I had wrote her character). I all apologize for any name confusion because I switch back and forth. Part of it is to set a mood and identify the person based on what they are feeling/doing (Bobby for the old person we knew from the movies, Logan/Wolverine and Rogue/Marie for their mood swings and battle "code" names) Anyways, thanks for reading and reviewing!

--- --- ---

"Ms. Munroe, what is going on? Why are we down here?" One of the younger students asked.

"Ms. Frost wanted us to come down here. Part of it is to see if we would be ready should we ever need to evacuate the main part of the mansion." Ororo hated only telling half the truth to them. She would tell some of the older children, the ones who were high school age. But this little 7 year old orphan girl who had seen little good before she came here, Ororo couldn't bare to tell her that two of the X-Men were getting ready to fight each other and she didn't know if either would survive. The walls had begun to feel like they were closing in on her. She didn't know how much longer she could keep from panicking. While it wasn't a small space, there were so many people and she knew she needed to stay here. The lack of freedom to move around even when in a large room was worse than the feeling of being in a small space which you could escape from easily.

"I haven't been here long, but I get the feeling this isn't a common occurrence." Iliana told Ororo.

"It isn't. We have people leave the group, St. John, also known as Pyro, disappeared on a mission and ended up with the Brotherhood. He was close friends with Bobby and Rogue at one point. But generally people don't stick around if there are so many bad feelings. Though I'm surprised this didn't happen sooner."

"I don't see what has gotten into him anyways. It's not like Roguey broke up with him and then went to Logan. Bobby ended it in order to get with Kitty. Everyone knows that." Jubilee chimed in.

"I don't think things are so simple. Bobby has almost always felt threatened by Logan when it came to Rogue." Ororo told her as she tried to give away nothing she knew. Nothing was simple in their lives, but even Jean coming back from the dead made more sense than this.

"I wish I could do more to help." Iliana told the other X-Men.

"Sometimes our best approach is to protect the ones we can and let things run their course." Ororo told her as she stared into the eyes of the God-child she prayed would have a mother when the day was over.

--- --- ---

Rogue needed an advantage, she needed some room. If she could put space in between them, she would at least be able to slow down his onslaughts. The idea of what the professor would think if they destroyed what had once been his office was also running through her mind. Her mind ran to the newly covered area just outside the windows of the office. It had been covered to help keep some prying eyes out of their everyday activities and outdoor training. Some of the parents had expressed concern about their children being on the news for no real reason.

Rogue walked backwards to the window which Emma had left open in order to allow some fresh air in. While everything seemed wrong, it was like it all had fallen into place. She re-sheathed her daggers and leapt out the window, landing in a crouch. Bobby Drake followed shortly on one of his ice-slides and Kitty had phased herself and Colossus through the building and outside. The area was covered from near the top of the building, so they had ended up underneath the canopy. Logan leapt out and was followed by a diamond-skinned Emma in order to break her fall. Logan got up from the dent he had made in the yard, readjusted himself, and started to make his way over to Rogue.

Before Logan could make it over to Rogue, she and Drake were already fighting hand to hand. She had skillfully blocked several of his punches before she kicked him and sent him flying back, falling, and then rolling a few meters away from her.

"I can handle this on my own." Rogue told Logan when he stood next to her, his eyes set like she had seen them so many times in battle.

"I don't care if you can or not, I'm not letting you." He told her as he let the adamantium claws slide out from underneath his skin, taking their natural place between his knuckles. She looked at him in objection for a second before turning back to face Drake. Logan could almost feel her eyes boring into him even in such a short length of time. He didn't bother looking away from the enemy. "Get used to it…" was all he was able to say before Bobby Drake ran up to Rogue in an attempt to attack her again, but she had unsheathed her daggers and crossed them in front of her before he ran into her. She rolled backwards slightly with him as she threw him off of her crossed daggers and to the ground.

"My turn." Logan responded as Drake stood up from the ground, slightly shaken. He let out a growl as Drake approached. Drake was too filled with anger to be able to think with any coherency. He couldn't even remember why he was here, all he knew was that someone was fighting with him and he had to fight back. Instead of doing something different, he just ran up to Logan who ended up knocking him with an elbow and an arm flat onto the ground. The air had been knocked out of his lungs with the last blow and it took him much longer to get up than it had the past two times. Rogue was a skilled fighter, but she did not have the sheer amount of strength nor metal mass The Wolverine possessed.

When the air rushed back into Drake's lungs, he began to realize who he was fighting. Instead of using his fists against such worthy opponents, he used his stinging words.

"Look at little Rogue, fighting next to the big bad Wolverine. I'm surprised he will let you fight. You might get hurt you know. But maybe he is as okay with damaged goods as he is used goods." Drake shot a look to Wolverine who was ready to rip his head off. He loved Marie no matter what and this _boy_ had no right to even look at her, much less talk about her anymore. Marie had begun to let some of her insecurities seep back into her mind. She hated how he could make her feel this way. Drake smiled, congratulating himself for the mental blow he had delivered to Marie with his words.

"Or did she leave out some things? Did she tell you how she would scream my name every time or how she would beg me for a second go? Or did she just tell you about the one time when I did what I wanted to do? Too bad it wasn't good. It was hardly worth the effort to drug her." Logan growled and threw him up against the outer wall of the mansion. Marie was on the ground and in tears. She knew Logan wouldn't judge her, but that didn't stop how much the words hurt. It made her feel dirty all over again. Logan knew what had happened and he didn't judge her. She had been deprived of touch for so long and she cared for Bobby, maybe even loved him at one point. While The Wolverine hated the idea of his mate ever having been with another, Logan outweighed him and reminded himself he was nowhere near perfect, and she was still as white as snow compared to him.

Kitty had her mouth hanging open in shock. Bobby Drake had done some low down things, but to rape someone, especially someone who cared so much about him, was beyond what she once thought he was capable of. Colossus had moved towards the section of wall wear one man had pinned the other. The idea of what he had done and that he might have done that to Kitty if she had stayed around him much longer sent shivers down his spine. His silver eyes were filled with an invisible anger. He wanted to hurt Drake, but he knew he would have to stand in line.

The bits and pieces were coming together for Emma. Bobby Drake's mind had become such a mess that she couldn't read it, Marie had always been guarded, and what she got from Logan had been hard to understand. She knew James wasn't Logan's son biologically, but whether Logan's idea of Marie being violated and taken advantage of by Bobby Drake was that of consent or not was fuzzy. This was Logan and anything which made Marie less pure, with maybe the exception of him being with her, was a violation of her.

Logan had kept Drake pinned for a few seconds before saying anything. "Now listen here and listen good Bub. What Marie willingly did was her choice, what you did to her was not. You have hurt her enough. You've crossed the line way too many times and unlike her, I don't care about your life. So I will leave you with this. It is my bed she sleeps in at night, my arms she finds comfort in, and my name she screams at night as I attend to _her_ wants. And it will be with me that she watches _our_ son grow, and it will be me who drives her to the hospital to watch our grandchildren be born. And if the time ever comes, it will be me who holds her when she is old and grey, and may last name that will be etched on our tombstone. And I am NOT sorry to say you won't live to see any of it." Logan finishes and pulls his fist back, ready to stab Drake. Before he was able to finish his task, Hank came running out followed by Jimmy.

"No Logan!" Hank shouted as he runs towards the two. He had a syringe and needle in his hand. When he reached Drake, he rammed the needle into his deltoid. Within seconds, Drake became unconscious. "Quick, we need to get him down to the med lab." Logan picked up the unconscious form knowing that if he wakes up then he will be able to finish him off before he can harm Marie.

"What was in that?" Logan asked.

"It's a sedative. Jimmy is here to keep his mutation restrained." They group made their way down to the med lab where hank had attached 4 point leather restraints, which were generally considered illegal in a hospital setting, to one of the beds. "Lay him here." And Logan obeyed. Once Drake was on the bed, Hank quickly began to fasten the restraints. Jimmy's presence was detectable by the blue fur on Hank's arms disappearing. Before backing away from the bed, Hank hooked the sleeping form up to a heart monitor, oxygen saturation machine, blood pressure cuff and IV which was emptying a milky white substance into his veins.

"Propofol. It will help keep him asleep." Hank told Logan in response to him having one eyebrow raised wondering what milk had to do with anything.

"I don't see why we don't go ahead and kill him. He is a danger to us." Logan told Hank.

"He needs help." Hank told him. "Something snapped in him last year and he hasn't been the same since. He needs professional mental help we cannot give him here. I am going to ask Iliana to come in here and monitor him while I make some phone calls."

"But he…"

"I know. What he did is inexcusable and wrong no matter what state of mind he was in. But the person who did that is not the person you fought next to so many times. If you want the end of a life, then you'll get it. You can get rid of the dark evil part and still salvage what is left of the Bobby we all once knew."

"I don't like this."

"Logan, he has changed. He did a complete 180 between the time he and I became friends to now." Marie told Logan.

"You're defending him after what he did to you!?"

"No. I'm defending the Bobby I knew, not what the evil Drake who overtook him did to me. I can understand what it's like to have a battlefield for a mind." Marie told Logan and he backed down. He remembered all too well the days when she reminded him so much of himself and the days when she was as arrogant and prejudice as Magneto. "Hank, wait, I'll go get Iliana for you so you can watch him." Marie walked out of the med lab.

"They're in the safe room near the end of the hall." Emma told her before she was too far gone. Marie needed to hold James, remind herself he was tangible and safe. She found the room easily due to the door being partially open. Ororo's panicked look explained why it wasn't fully closed.

"Is it safe to come out now?" Ororo asked her. Apparently James had become a tool to help ground her. Ororo was staring at the child seemingly trying to remind herself to not panic and wake the sleeping baby.

"Yes. Everyone else is in the med lab." Marie said as she reached for her son and held him close. She couldn't help but to let a few tears fall from her eyes. "Iliana, Hank needed to see you in the med lab." Iliana nodded and made her way to the med lab.

"What happened? Hank came running down here not long ago and grabbed Jimmy. He didn't even tell us what was going on."

"I'll explain a little later. But the danger has passed for right now. And we're all in one piece. It would be alright to let the kids go back to their rooms for now. I don't think any of them like being in here for so long."

"You're right." Ororo agreed. "Jubilee, Nori, Kurt, and Josh and help get the rest of the students into their rooms. I am going to go see what is going on." Ororo and Marie with James in tow began to walk out of the room.

"I think the others can handle it." Jubilee said as she started to walk out of the room behind Ororo as the other two began to gather up the other students.

"I think you should help them. Then you can come and see what is going on." Jubilee started to pout.

"Fine." Jubilee reluctantly agreed and turned around to help disperse the younger mutants. Ororo was very curious about what had transpired and hoped there would be an end to the madness. The site she saw when she entered the room was heartbreaking. Robert Drake was unconscious and strapped down to a table. She had to push back the urge to untie him, but remembered there was a reason. He was about to attack Kitty before Marie had intervened.

"How is he?" Ororo asked Iliana.

"He is stable. We are keeping him sedated and Jimmy is helping us by suppressing his mutation. Hank is making some calls to see if we can get him some help we cannot give him here." Iliana told her.

"What kind of help?"

"Hank isn't exactly sure, but it is most likely psychiatric in nature. He knows a mutant out in Oregon who has dealt with some mutant psychological problems. He is hoping the man will be able to help him."

"So how are we going to get Ice Pick from here to Oregon? And why are we even bothering?" Logan asked.

"He won't go alone, I know this at least." Ororo told Logan. Hank appeared again in the med lab.

"Dr. Roan is willing to help him. We just have to get him to his hospital. He will have some mutant guards once we arrive at the hospital."

"So when do we get to ship him off?" Logan asked.

"We all need some rest. Emma, Ororo, and I will sit down later and figure out plans for his transfer and hopefully it will occur in the morning." Hank told him. Logan wasn't too happy about the mutant being in the mansion with him for even one more night. Oregon wasn't even far enough away.


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** Last time I checked, I'm not worth a large sum of money. If I did, I wouldn't be busting my butt in college classes in order to make a living. And I would be making money off of writing. But since I'm not making money off of this, it can be concluded that I am not Marvel and do not own the X-Men.

**Author's Note:** Propofol is real and I don't own the rights to it. It does look like milk and does have a pretty short half life which means it doesn't stay in the system very long. I know this because when I'm not moonlighting as an author or in class, I tend to spend a lot of time working in an intensive care unit and I see it a good amount back there (and it seriously does look like milk). Anyways, I just thought I would give you that bit of information, it might actually come in handy one day. Enjoy!

--- --- ---

"Please be careful. If you need help just let us know. I don't foresee anything happening considering all of the precautions we have taken." Emma told Ororo as they were loading up the X-jet. Hank was talking to Iliana, giving her some last minute instructions as Piotr and Warren were moving Robert Drake onto the jet. Jimmy and Kitty were following behind them.

"Are you sure no one will need to stay with him?" Ororo asked.

"There are some strong mutant guards at the facility. Hank has assured me he will be fine to stay there without the aid of the X-Men." Emma told her.

"If I think differently, I'm staying."

"Then who will drive the jet back home?"

"I'll give Warren a crash course on the way there. He already knows how to fly, just a matter of flying a jet instead of just himself."

"We need you back here as well. Have faith in the abilities of others."

"Ororo, we're ready to go." Iliana told her.

"'Ro, this is hard on all of us, but remember this is what is best for him." Emma said.

"I know. Hopefully he will come back the Bobby I had in class." Ororo said before turning to get onto the jet. Emma and Hank left the hanger and Ororo took off with Bobby and the other five members of her team. Ororo would pilot, Iliana would monitor Bobby's medical condition while Jimmy would keep his mutation under control. Piotr and Warren came along, Piotr partially because of Kitty. Kitty was there because she was one of Bobby's few remaining friends. Despite all that had happened, she still remembered the Bobby who turned fountains into ice rinks and loved an untouchable girl.

--- --- ---

Logan heard the faint sound of the hanger hatch opening as the X-jet took off as he run a gentle hand through Marie's hair. She was still asleep in his arms. It had been a long night for the both of them. Marie had spent an hour pacing when they first got back to their room, not willing to put James down. It wasn't until James woke up wanting to bed fed, that she at least sat down. Once she sat down, she yawned and he had convinced her to get some rest. She spent most of the night tossing and turning, but still got more rest than he had. When Drake was out of the mansion, he would let is guard down a little bit and rest.

He breathed in the sweet scent of her hair and relaxed even more; it was like a drug to him. What chloroform could do to others her peaceful scent could do to him. Before long he was asleep and his gentle snoring put Marie into a deeper sleep. It was after noon before they woke up. Even James seemed to be more at peace.

--- --- ---

"We're here." Ororo announced as she was preparing to land the jet at an airport 15 miles away from the hospital. Dr. Roan had planned to meet them with an ambulance at the airport. Kitty had been holding Bobby's hand throughout the trip. She wanted to remind him of his humanity and that people cared. Iliana was in the middle of hanging a new bottle of propofol, when Bobby began to stir.

"Kitty?" He said groggily.

"Yeah. I'm here." She said softly as she squeezed his hand.

"Where am I? What, what's going on?"

"You're in the jet right now. We are taking you to a hospital where you can get some help. You…you haven't been yourself in a little while."

"I'm sorry." Was the last thing he said before falling back into his drug-induced sleep.

"It's time to move him." Piotr told Kitty who was on the verge of tears. For a brief moment, she had talked to the Bobby she first met; the sweet man with angelic ice blue eyes and the soul to go along with them. She stood up from her vigil seat as Piotr and Warren moved Bobby to the ambulance. There were two men in the ambulance, in addition two Dr. Roan.

"There is a van to carry the rest of you to the hospital. We only have room for two and I feel Jimmy should be one of them just in case." Dr. Roan told Ororo. She was about to volunteer to go, until Kitty spoke up.

"I'll go." Kitty said as she hopped into the ambulance.

"We'll follow behind in the van." Ororo told the doctor.

"Kitty, please be careful." Piotr told her as they were piling into the van. He couldn't hide his concern for the young woman.

Those last 15 miles seemed like the longest 15 miles of Kitty Pryde's life. She was turning over her friend for who knows how long to a person she had just met. She knew Bobby needed help. She had felt something was wrong for the past year, but last night really showed her that he was beyond their control or their help. So she sat there holding his hand and telling his sleeping form of how wonderful it was going to be when he got out and was himself again. She told him she was going to pray for him and call him when she could. She may even visit if they would let her.

When they arrived the hospital reminded her slightly of the mansion. It was an older stone home which had been repurposed. There were two guards outside the doors, the only person she could think of which could take them on was Logan as far as just fighting went. Maybe Piotr, but few people messed with him due to his natural height.

The two guards made their way down the stairs in front of the building to help Piotr, Warren, and the two other men she had met in the ambulance carry Bobby up the stairs and into the hospital. Jimmy grabbed Kitty's hand, unsure of what to do.

"Come on in. I will show you a little bit of the facilities so you will know your friend is safe." Dr. Roan told them. Kitty and Jimmy followed the stretcher in, with Ororo and Iliana falling in behind them. The air smelled clean and the atmosphere was friendly. There were a few patients out in a common room playing cards. As they made there way down the halls, Kitty noticed mixed in with the patients were nurses and guards. Bobby's room was on the second floor close to the nurse's station. The room struck her as unfriendly at first because it was so bare.

"The room is considered a safe room. Anything which was considered extremely dangerous has been removed. I'm afraid he cannot have a regular television, computer, or pictures, but there is a television in the wall and several places with digital photo frames. If you would like to send some files of his pictures, we will be glad to put them up. We are here to help him and we believe part of that is reminding him of the good in his life."

Kitty just nodded at the doctor's words. "If you have any questions, just let us know. But for now I would like you to say your farewells so we can get Bobby settled."

Warren and Piotr said bye to their teammate. Iliana went with Ororo as she said her farewells. Jimmy went with Kitty as she said bye. Before Kitty left she placed a kiss on Bobby's cheek and told him, "I'll miss you. But I know this is for the best. Bye." They walked out of the building and were driven back to the airport in silence. They all felt like they were leaving a part of themselves behind. It didn't seem right to abandon a team member. They had already lost too much. First they lost Jean to what they thought was death and then to the Phoenix. Then they lost The Professor, Scott, and finally Jean for good. This time they were consciously leaving Bobby and while that idea hurt, they knew it was only to gain the person they truly loved and cared about in place of what had taken over him. It may take months or years, but all that time will be worth it to see the kindness behind those ice blue eyes once again.

--- --- ---

"Marie, you know we can leave this room, right?" Logan told his wife who was starring out the window.

"I know. It's just…I feel safe here. It's like our own little world. No one can hurt us here."

"He is gone. He isn't going to hurt you again." Logan told her.

"It isn't him. Well, not really. It wasn't the Bobby I knew who did those things to me…" Logan opened his mouth to object, but Marie silenced him by placing a hand to his mouth. "I know it was physically still the same person, but something had broken inside his mind. Something or some things had happened to him that made him change and eventually snap. It makes me wonder what the world we live in can do to us. We've all already been through so much. We have lost close friends, been ostracized for being different, and had to fight to find our places. I'm not saying it's easier being whatever normal is, but we're different. Then I think about what James is going to have to go through." She said as she walked towards the crib where her sleeping baby lay. "It would be enough for him to find out the father who raised him isn't his real father and then the circumstances….But then to find out just exactly how screwed up all your parents are. A mother who couldn't touch and still has random people running through her head, a father who doesn't even know how old he is and has lost a lot of his past, and then a biological father who went crazy…."

"But he also has a family who loves him. And it isn't just us. You think I would have come back to the mansion if I didn't know there were people here who cared? And he is going to have something we didn't have; he is going to have plenty of people who understand what it is like to be different. He isn't going to end up nearly killing somebody before he realizes he is different."

"But what if he can't control it?"

"Then he'll have someone who understands him."

"What if he hates me for taking the cure?"

"You're his mother. He will understand. Do you think you could have had him if you didn't gain control of your mutation some way?"

"But maybe I could have learned…"

"Marie, don't go regretting it. I don't."

"I'm not regretting it. I guess I'm just thinking too much. I don't regret anything that brought me closer to you." She said as she stroked his cheek.

"Marie, I've been thinking…maybe James would like a..." How did Logan bring himself to say something like this? "a younger brother or sister."

"Is this your way of saying you want another kid?" She said, smiling at her husband.

"Maybe." He said, smirking at her.

"Under one condition."

"What?"

"You get diaper duty this time."

"Fine." He said as he kissed her. Any of the harsh memories or worries drifted to the back of their minds. They were in their only little world, where there was no such thing as too much when it came to the other.

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The End

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**Closing Author's Note:** Yeah, I know, it seems like a lot of things are left unsolved. What is wrong with Bobby and will he ever be better? What about Iliana and Hank, and will Kitty get back with Bobby, or will Piotr win her over? And then the inevitable questions, is there another baby in the pic and what about James? I kind of wonder the same things when I finish reading something. I felt that it was time for this story to end because the original problems were resolved.

I have already started something of a sequel for this. It's more or less a collection of one-shots to cover some major events (and minor ones) following Bobby's hospitalization, which I will start posting soon. Plus, I've been finding it easier to write one shots when my time is more scattered (the Fall semester starts in a little over two weeks).

Thank you all for reading. I have really enjoyed hearing from my awesome reviewers, especially Wanda W, Nightcrawler's Shadow, Mrs Max McDowell, RogueNya, and midnight_blue08 who were such faithful reviewers (I do appreciate you all though). Thank you and God bless!!!!


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